It says the longer flight path consumes more fuel and this, “combined with “temporary unseasonably strong headwinds, is limiting the airlines’ ability to carry baggage in cargo”.
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It cited strong headwinds and the longer flight path over Egypt as the reasons. As of press time, the London route (flown by an Airbus A380) has had its checked baggage restrictions lifted, but they remain in place for the Amsterdam and Paris routes, flown by smaller Boeing 777s.
In its announcement on limitation of check-in baggage for Europe routes yesterday, MAB only allowed cabin baggage up to 7kg, with Economy Class passengers allowed to bring one piece up to that weight, while Business and First Class passengers were allowed to bring two pieces totalling 14kg.
Malaysia Airlines, which lost MH17 in 2014 when it was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine, had been avoiding the flight path over Iran since October when European regulators warned Russian missiles aimed at Syria fired from the Caspian Sea could be flying below that air corridor.
All baggage is being shipped to affected customers in Europe.
The carrier, still reeling from the loss of two Boeing 777-200 aircraft in separate incidents in 2014, defended the temporary restriction, saying that “safety was of utmost priority” in its operations.
In March that year, its flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared while on a flight to China and is believed to have gone down in the Indian Ocean. No other airline asked passengers to leave their luggage because of the windy weather.
Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Endau Analytics, told AFP: “It’s highly unusual and weird but that’s what we’ve got used to from Malaysia Airlines”.
If the absurd checked baggage ban was his way of telling Malaysian politicians the flag carrier needs to beat a hasty retreat from unprofitable long-haul routes, then he might even have scored a coup.
The issue has caused bemusement among industry experts and consumers alike, with the main contention being that other Southeast Asian airlines flying similar routes have not taken a similar stance.
The airline said it will continue to assess the evolution of the situation over the region and will update travellers when operations are back to normal.
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The ban applies to flights to London, Paris and Amsterdam from today. “What airlines usually do is limit the number of passengers”.
