The hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is ongoing but
has cost hundreds of millions of dollars already, becoming the most
expensive aviation search in history.
Planes, submarines, ships
and satellites have contributed to the search which began around one
month ago, and were deployed by 26 countries.
At least $44
million was spent on military ships and planes deployed by Australia,
the U.S. and Vietnam in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea,
Reuters reported, based on costs reported by the U.S. Pentagon, defense
analysts’ estimates and statistics on hourly costs by the U.S. defense
force.
The cost is almost equal to the 32 million euros ($44m)
spent in a several-month search, split up over the span of two years,
for Air France’s flight AF447, which crashed in the Mid-Atlantic in
2009.
The entire search and recovery effort for MH370 could be at
least double the money spent for France’s AF447, a Malaysian government
source speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters.
Additional
costs of the defense assets used by countries such as the UK, France,
New Zealand and South Korea, and other expenses including the
utilization of international intelligence and analysts, accommodation
for personnel and officers and civilian aircrafts have not been included
in the estimated $44m.
Australia
Australia, which has
been leading the search and contributed to paying around half of the
cost, hinted that it may start charging Malaysia. Prime Minister Tony
Abbott and his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, have repeatedly said
the cost of the search is not an issue.
However, Australia hinted that the cost is high and it may start charging.
"At
some point, there might need to be a reckoning, there might need to be
some kind of tallying, but nevertheless we are happy to be as helpful as
we can to all the countries that have a stake in this,” Abbott said
last week.
The search effort for MH370 is costing the Australian
Defense Force at least A$800,000 ($743,322) per day and possibly
considerably more than that," said Kym Bergmann, editor of Asia-Pacific
Defense Reporter and a former government defense adviser.
China
China,
the home country of 227 passengers that were on board MH370, sent 18
ships eight helicopters, and three fixed-wings aircraft to various
search areas.
The country declined to comment on the expense of
the search, and confirmed that it was dedicated to continue “as long as
there is a shred of hope,” Reuters reported.
The Global Times, an
influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official
People's Daily, estimated that the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, two of which
were sent out by China, costs $10,000 an hour to operate, excluding the
cost of maintenance and accommodation for the crew.
“There's a
lot of pressure in China to find the plane," said a Beijing-based
Western diplomat. "China will spare no effort.” Reuters reported.
United States
The
U.S. Pentagon said it has already spent more than $3.3 million in the
search, and already has plans to double its original $4 million search
budget.
Two Towed Pinger Locators sent by the United States have picked up signals which may from the MH370’s cockpit last week.
For its part, Vietnam’s search cost has been estimated at around $8 million, a figure still not verified by officials.
Artcile: Al Arabiya 
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