Malaysia Airlines sorry for ‘insensitive’ tweets

Malaysia Airlines has said its loss widened in the last quarter, and was forced to apologise for a promotional tweet deemed insensitive after two deadly passenger jet disasters this year.

In its last public financial result before a planned privatisation and overhaul, the national carrier said its net loss in the July to September quarter rose 53% from a year earlier to €576.1m (£108m).

The airline’s business has suffered after a Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people on board, mostly from China, went missing on March 8 while en route to Beijing. No trace of it has been found. In July, a Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.