MH370 Families Seek Facts in China Court Appeal

Relatives of Chinese passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 attended a Beijing court on Tuesday as it began hearing an appeal against a compensation ruling they say failed to address key questions about the plane's disappearance.

The Boeing 777, carrying 239 people, disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Two-thirds of those on board were Chinese. The aircraft, passengers and black boxes have not been found despite multiple searches.

A Beijing court ordered Malaysia Airlines in December to pay eight families of Chinese passengers 2.9 million yuan ($410,000) each. Two families appealed. Li Eryou, whose son was on the flight, told AFP the first-instance ruling treated the case like an ordinary traffic accident and awarded too little compensation.

Jiang Hui, whose mother was on the plane, said the families wanted the facts of the case established and Malaysia Airlines' actions since 2014 addressed, not only a ruling on compensation.

The hearing was closed to media. Malaysia said last month that the search for MH370 would be extended through June 2027, with private firm Ocean Infinity leading the operation after a search that began in March 2025 ended without finding the aircraft.