Malaysia Airlines MH370 : When Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014, the mystery surrounding the aircraft was only beginning. But one thing changed almost immediately: the flight number itself.
Malaysia Airlines announced that it would retire MH370 and the return-flight designation MH371 after the aircraft disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. The airline said the decision was made as a “mark of respect” for the passengers and crew, according to NPR.
The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route was subsequently given the number MH318, while the Beijing-Kuala Lumpur return flight became MH319.
The decision reflected a longstanding practice in aviation: flight numbers associated with major tragedies are sometimes retired so that the numbers do not continue to evoke the events they became associated with.
Why Airlines Retire Flight Numbers After Major Disasters
NPR reported that airlines often retire flight numbers after fatal crashes because the numbers can evoke negative emotions among passengers and crew.
The practice is particularly associated with high-profile accidents. But there is no single, transparent rule governing when a flight number is retired.
Salon.com noted that the decision-making process is “completely opaque,” with historical accidents suggesting that airlines make the decision on a case-by-case basis. How familiar a flight number is to the public can also play a role.
That helps explain why a flight number can become more than simply a code used to identify a route.
