Malaysia Airlines bans check-in baggage to Paris, Amsterdam

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday temporarily banned checked-in baggage and limited the weight of cabin bags on its flights from Kuala Lumpur to Europe due to strong headwinds.

The move affecting Tuesday and Wednesday flights has baffled passengers, who slammed the airline on social media.

The airline is now operating a long route to Europe, which, combined with “temporary unseasonably strong head winds”, limits its ability to carry luggage in the cargo.

The airline said the baggage limitations applied to flights to Amsterdam and Paris operated by its Boeing 777 aircraft.

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Due to safety concerns, Malaysia Airlines says it will suspend check-in baggage allowance on its Europe flights for now.

It said passengers could call the airline at 1300-88-3000 for enquiries on the status of checked-in luggage.

“This longer flight path consumes more jet fuel and for safety reasons, Malaysia Airlines has had to impose a temporary limitation on checked-in baggage”, Malaysia Airlines said.

In a statement on its website, the airline said: “Malaysia Airlines will continue to assess the changing situation over the region and will update passengers when operations are back to normal”. Others asked for a refund of their tickets.

“If travel is not able to be rescheduled within these guidelines, customers may cancel their reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance”, said the statement.

Malaysian is acutely conscious of safety issues after the deaths on Flight MH17 in Ukraine followed months after the loss of another plane that had departed Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. Mueller has said the airline can break even by 2018 after cutting 6,000 staff, selling surplus aircraft and refurbishing its global fleet.