In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry confirmed that the search mission will restart on 30 December, lasting 55 days with breaks. Authorities said operations will focus on areas considered more likely to contain the aircraft, without disclosing precise locations.

Flight MH370 veered off course and disappeared from radar on 8 March 2014 while operating its regular service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. On board were 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers, most of whom were Chinese nationals. Passengers from Australia, Indonesia, Russia and other countries were also among those on board.

Danica Weeks, the wife of an Australian passenger, welcomed the decision, saying families are “incredibly grateful and relieved” that Malaysia is continuing the effort. “We never stopped demanding answers, and the fact that the search will resume gives us a sense of relief,” Weeks said.

Since the aircraft disappeared, extensive search operations have been conducted in the Indian Ocean, but without success.

Last year, Malaysia stated it would reopen the investigation if new credible evidence emerged, and subsequently reached an agreement with Ocean Infinity to resume searching in a new 15,000-square-kilometer area of the Indian Ocean. Under the agreement, Ocean Infinity will only be paid if debris is found.

Search operations were halted in April due to poor weather conditions. MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. on 8 March 2014; its last radar contact was at 2:14 a.m. while flying over the Strait of Malacca. Half an hour later, the airline reported it had lost contact with the aircraft.

Families of the passengers continue to seek answers to prevent another tragedy. Some traveled to Madagascar in 2016 to search for debris on beaches after fragments were found on the coast of Tanzania.

In January 2017, authorities from Malaysia, Australia, and China announced the end of the underwater search after two and a half years, during which Australian teams scanned 120,000 square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean.