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Photos of empty Malaysia Airline flights making rounds online

It has been nothing short of a catastrophic year for Malaysia Airlines, which suffered two major tragedies in quick succession, leaving its jets flying virtually empty, as pictures on social media show.

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Photos of empty Malaysia Airlines' flights circulating on social media are a graphic illustration of the airline's dire predicament.

Following the disappearance of MH370 and then the MH17 crash just months later has left customer confidence at an all-time low. 

The two incidents could not have come at a worse time for Malaysia Airlines, as it had already been operating in the red for about five years before this year's accidents.

State investment fund Khazanah Nasional, which has controlled the airline for years via a 70 per cent ownership stake, has expressed the intention to to buy all remaining shares and delist the company before undertaking a ‘complete overhaul’ of the business.

Despite the apparently massive losses to revenue however, the airline has continued operating, and is believed to be burning through its reserves at some S$2.5 million a day, as reported on Mashable.com.

In March this year, flight MH370, scheduled to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished with all 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. The whereabouts of the missing airliner, as well as everyone on board, remains unknown.

Tragedy struck again last month when flight MH17 was apparently shot down while travelling in Ukrainian airspace. All 283 passengers, as well as 15 crew on board were killed, in an incident that seems unfairly pinned on the embattled airline, as it is but one of many airlines that operate in the area.

Then, earlier this month, a chief steward of a Malaysia Airlines jet was detained on Aug 4 in France over allegations that he had sexually assaulted an Australian passenger on flight MH20 from Kuala Lumpur, according to a report on news.com.au.

The airline had said in a statement that the steward had been held for questioning by French police after the passenger had complained to authorities at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The cabin crew member is alleged to have sat down beside the female passenger and sexually assaulted her under the pretext of ‘comforting’ her after she had revealed her apprehensions about travelling on board the aircraft. AGENCIES

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