Malaysia Air to undergo ‘complete makeover’

Malaysia Airlines is undergoing a “complete makeover” after a pair of deadly disasters this year, The Associated Press reports. 

The airline, which is mostly owned by the Malaysian government, suffered two catastrophic incidents within four months of each other this year, when one of its planes went missing in March and another was shot down over Ukraine this month. 

The back-to-back high-profile disasters have led the Malaysian government to begin planning a $429 million overhaul of its national airline, according to the report. 

{mosads}”The proposed restructuring will critically require all parties to work closely together to undertake what will be a complete overhaul of the national carrier,” the Malaysian government’s investment fund, Khazanah Nasional, said in a statement. 

“Nothing less will be required in order to revive our national airline to be profitable as a commercial entity and to serve its function as a critical national development entity,” the investment fund continued. 

The trouble for Malaysia Air first begun when Flight 370 disappeared in March while it was carrying 239 passengers. The disappearance of the Boeing 777 airplane, which has still not been found, roiled the international aviation industry and caused turmoil for the airline. 

Malaysia Air was said to be facing a potential bankruptcy in May, after its stock value dropped to its lowest levels since 1998. 

The turbulence surrounding the country’s namesake airline only grew worse when Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine in July, resulting in the deaths of another 298 passengers who were on board that plane at the time. 

The crash of Malaysia Air Flight 17 has been attributed to Russian separatists, who are involved in a dispute over the area of Ukraine near Crimea. 

U.S. officials have alleged that the plane was shot down using technology supplied by the Russian government.