“This longer flight path consumes more jet fuel and for safety reasons, Malaysia Airlines has had to impose temporary limitation on checked-in baggage allowance”, it said.
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In the latest advisory by the national carrier today, it said the restriction on Malaysia Airlines flights from Kuala Lumpur to London, Paris and Amsterdam will be lifted starting tonight (Jan 6).
It said on Facebook that economy-class passengers can only carry a cabin bag up to 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) while those in business and first class are allowed two pieces totaling 14 kilograms (30.8 pounds).
Malaysia Airlines took the unlikely step of telling long-haul passengers that they should fly without checked luggage, saying unusually intense headwinds are jeopardising the ability of aircraft to reach European cities even with a full load of kerosene.
As one might expect, passengers were up in arms over the news, with many taking to social media to air their grievances.
In the same year, Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean with little evidence as to what occurred. With more than 900 airline deaths in the past two years, attacks have outweighed any other cause of plane accidents.
“Malaysia Airlines maintains that safety is of utmost priority in our operations and will not hesitate to adjust our flight path based on daily risk assessment”, it said. “It’s ludicrous. Malaysia Airlines have been flying to Europe for decades”.
It said passengers who wish to check in their luggage may be able to do so, but their baggage will only arrive later.
The carrier, which lost two Boeing 777 aircraft in separate incidents in 2014, has been flying a roundabout route to Europe over Egypt rather than Iran since October.
Connecting passengers travelling on oneworld member carriers with through check in may also have their baggage offloaded due to this operational constraint, it added.
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 airline announced that passengers could reschedule flights for free, but would receive no other compensation.
