The long-awaited search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has hit yet another delay — this time due to poor weather — and won’t resume until the end of the year, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

In a voice recording shared with AFP, Loke confirmed the search had been paused. “They have stopped the operation for the time being, they will resume the search at the end of this year,” he said. Speaking at an event at Kuala Lumpur International Airport a day earlier, he added: “Right now, it's not the season.”

But here’s the thing: if the Malaysian government hadn’t dragged its feet for so long, this latest search could have started months ago — during better weather conditions. Instead, delays in approving and finalizing the deal with the search firm have once again pushed progress to the brink of impossibility. For many following the case, it feels like yet another example of the authorities showing more hesitation than urgency in solving the world’s most confounding aviation mystery.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, disappeared on 8 March 2014, just 40 minutes into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board. Its fate has haunted aviation experts, families, and the public for more than a decade.

Last month — finally — Malaysia reached an agreement with British marine robotics company Ocean Infinity to resume the search. The operation is focused on a 15,000 square kilometer area off the coast of Perth, Australia, guided by new “credible” data including satellite signals and disrupted radio transmissions.

Ocean Infinity is operating under a “no-find, no-fee” arrangement, meaning it will only receive the $70 million payout if the wreckage is located.

Ironically, Ocean Infinity’s vessel, Armada 7806, had already arrived at the designated search area in February and had even begun scanning the seafloor with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). But now, with autumn bringing rougher seas in the southern hemisphere, the mission is being shelved until conditions improve — a frustrating pause that might have been avoided with faster government action.

This latest effort follows an earlier multinational search covering 120,000 square kilometers, led by Malaysia, Australia, and China. That search turned up little more than fragments of debris — and even less confidence in official accountability.

Transport Minister Loke, for his part, hedged expectations: “Whether or not it will be found will be subject to the search—nobody can anticipate.”

Despite the delay, some families of those aboard remain hopeful. Kelvin Shim, whose wife was on MH370, is choosing patience over anger. “We’ve waited more than 11 years—what’s a few more months? I can still wait,” he said.

Still, for many others, the sense lingers that had the Malaysian government moved faster, the window for this final mission wouldn’t be closing quite so soon. And as the ocean continues to keep its secrets, some are left wondering whether there was ever a real urgency to find the plane at all.