International prosecutors said they had found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system which shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over the east of the country in 2014. However, evidence of Putin's and other Russian officials' involvement was not conclusive enough to lead to a criminal conviction, they said, ending their probe for now. MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system as it flew over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens. "There are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying the BUK," the prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday. But prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer told a news conference in The Hague the investigation had now "reached its limit". "The findings are insufficient for the prosecution of new suspects," she said. The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied any Russian state involvement in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In November, a Dutch court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader of murder for helping arrange the missile system used to shoot the plane down. The men, who were tried in absentia, remain at large. Prosecutors said on Wednesday they could not identify the specific soldiers responsible for operating the missile system, which came from Russia's 53rd brigade in Kursk. But they cited two phone intercepts in their evidence. The first was a 2014 conversation between Russian officials in which one indicated Putin's approval was necessary before a request for equipment made by the separatists could be granted. "It is not known whether the request explicitly mentions a BUK system. A little later, the heavier air defence systems are delivered, including the BUK that shoots down MH17," prosecutors said.<br/>
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Ukraine will use all international legal mechanisms to try to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to justice for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over east Ukraine in 2014, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Wednesday. "The difficulty of obtaining evidence and functional immunity do not allow prosecuting the president of the RF (Russian Federation) in national courts," Kostin wrote on Twitter. "We will seek to employ all the existing international legal mechanisms to bring him to justice. "International prosecutors said they had found "strong indications" that Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system that shot down MH17, but that evidence of his involvement was not concrete enough to lead to a criminal conviction.<br/>
The Netherlands will continue to hold Russia to account for the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday. Rutte said it was a "bitter disappointment" that the international investigation into the downing of MH17 had ended without further prosecutions for lack of evidence. "We will continue to call the Russian Federation to account for its role in this tragedy," Rutte said in a statement.<br/>
The Australian government on Thursday said it had acknowledged the decision by international prosecutors to suspend their investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over Ukraine in 2014. MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system as it flew over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens or residents. "Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine and its lack of cooperation with the investigation have rendered ongoing investigative efforts and the collection of evidence impossible at this time," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement. "Today's announcement will be distressing for many," Wong said, adding Australia remained committed to pursue its ongoing case with the Netherlands in the International Civil Aviation Organization. Australia and the Netherlands have said they hold Russia responsible for MH17's downing. International prosecutors on Wednesday said they had found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system which shot down MH17. However, evidence of Putin's and other Russian officials' involvement was not conclusive enough to lead to a criminal conviction, they said, ending their probe for now.<br/>
British Airways has sealed a codeshare agreement with South African carrier Airlink, helping to fill the void left by the collapse of long-standing franchise partner Comair last summer. The South African carrier had been a BA franchise partner for 25 years, but was forced to ground flights in May last year amid a funding crisis that would ultimately force Comair to cease operations. BA will now codeshare with Airlink, the regional carrier which serves a network of 13 countries from its bases in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg using a fleet of more than 50 Embraer regional jets. BA flies to Johannesburg twice-daily from London Heathrow using Airbus A380s, as well serving Cape Town double-daily from Heathrow and three times a week from London Gatwick. BA director of network and alliances, Neil Chernoff, says: “Our flights to Cape Town and Johannesburg continue to be as popular as ever with our customers, so we’re pleased to be able to open up more options in the Southern African region.” Airlink has embarked on a standalone operator strategy, having secured its own AOC after ending its own franchise agreement with South African Airlines in early 2020. It also rebranded from the SA Airlink name and has since struck codeshare deals with carriers including Emirates, United Airlines and BA’s Oneworld partner, Qatar Airways. “This is an important next step in our partnership with British Airways, which has a phenomenal global reach into the most important markets for our region,” says Airlink chief executive Rodger Foster. ”The marriage of our two networks will benefit both British Airways’ and Airlink’s customers, giving them even more choice with a wide range of itinerary options and connectivity possibilities.” <br/>
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) – the parent company of Malaysia Airlines – has reshuffled its senior leadership team and operating structure, as it hopes to break even by this year. The move, announced 8 February, will see the formation of three “profit centres”: airlines, aviation services, as well as loyalty and travel services. MAG says the new operating structure “will enable [it] to deliver its Long-Term Business Plan 2.0 in a more cohesive and unified manner”. It says there will be “greater emphasis” on transparency and accountability, with a clearer financial reporting structure, and envisages each division helping to “diversify the group’s revenue streams beyond its airlines business”. The group rolled out the second edition of its long-term business plan after successfully restructuring in 2021. Since then, it has gone some way in slashing costs and eliminating its debt, while growing its revenue streams. MAG chief Izham Ismail says: “While [MAG’s] existing structure has enabled us to be future-proof, we continue implementing a strong and flexible organisational structure that will set the group up for long-term success.” The units will be headed by respective CEOs, supporting the group-level leadership team. Izham, who was also Malaysia Airlines chief, will continue in his present role, together six other members of the MAG leadership team. MAG’s airlines portfolio will be headed by Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, who was the group’s operations chief for about five years. <br/>