Malaysia Airlines is set to undergo the most radical restructuring in its history, with a quarter of its staff axed and routes to Europe and China slashed as the tragedy-struck carrier fights for its survival.
The airline has been flying near-empty planes after four disastrous months - a time when
the disappearance of flight MH370, which went missing en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur in March, was followed by flight MH17 being shot down over Ukraine in July. A total of 537 passengers and 29 Malaysia Airlines staff lost their lives in the two tragedies.
Now Malaysia's sovereign-wealth fund, Khazanah - which is chaired by the country's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, and is the biggest shareholder in the carrier - has won backing for a restructuring plan that will also see the airline delist from the stock market and be nationalised.
Malaysia Airlines will sack about a quarter of its 19,500 staff as it focuses on core Asian routes and retains only some of its existing long-haul schedule to help feed traffic.
The MH17 and MH370 tragedies have not only hit demand for seats on the airline: almost 200 cabin crew have resigned this year, with many citing "family pressure" or fear of flying.
