Why Missing AirAsia Flight Can Cost Millions…

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 disappeared in the Indonesian airspace on 7:24 AM on Sunday, December 28. The flight was carrying 162 passengers from Surabaya to Singapore. Flight QZ8501 went off the radar between the islands of Belitung and Borneo. Initial reports stated that bad weather may have played a role in the aircraft’s disappearance.

As of today, the search continues with military ships and helicopters covering the premises for any sight of the missing plane. Although the safety and accountability for the passengers on that flight is top priority, the costs that coincide with the search efforts can be troublesome to some governments and/or international agencies.

One thing’s certain, the search efforts for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 can potentially reach the millions.

According to Reuters, missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 cost an estimated $44 million and is noted as the most expensive aviation search in history. Twenty-six countries contributed planes, ships, submarines, and satellites to the search. To derive this estimate, analysts took into account hourly costs of several assets and costs reported by the Pentagon.

Air France’s Flight AF447, which crashed into the Mid-Atlantic in 2009, search efforts costs approx. $44 million as well. But, Air France’s cost was stretched over a two-year time frame.

Most governments set aside funds for potential catastrophe’s such as aircraft disappearances or crashes. For instance, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) has a budget of $5 billion. As of April 2014, the ADF contributed half the costs for flight AF447 black box search. Also, it costs ADF $800,000 a day  to help search for flight MH370.

No, word yet on if the ADF will assist in AirAsia’s search. If the search for the plane and its 162 passengers take weeks, then we can expect the costs will rise.