Extending the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 into a new stretch of ocean - recently identified as the more likely whereabouts of the aircraft - would cost approximately $40 million.
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This is less than quarter of the $200 million the 120,000-square-kilometre search has cost Australia, China and Malaysia so far. The three countries confirmed the end of the underwater hunt on Wednesday and have firmly reiterated that only evidence pinpointing the specific location of the plane would trigger an extension.
The price tag of just over $40 million to comb the extra 25,000-square-kilometre zone in the Indian Ocean, just north of the original area, is proportionate to the costs of the search so far. Fairfax Media understands it is seen as a reliable estimate inside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The grief-stricken families of victims have condemned the three governments' decision to halt the search, demanding it be restarted, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Transport Minister Darren Chester have set a high threshold for this to occur.
"I don't rule out a future underwater search by any stretch. It is a question of if you have credible new information, which leads to a specific location," Mr Chester said in a press conference on Wednesday, placing primary responsibility for such a decision with the Malaysian government but predicting it would be discussed with China and Australia.
In December, fresh Australian Transport Safety Bureau analysis – conducted by a panel of international experts –found the plane more likely crashed in the northern 25,000-square-kilometre area.
With a "high degree of confidence" and using newly available information, the panel concluded that the plane would not be found in the 120,000-square-kilometre search zone and recommended the search be extended into the new stretch.
Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul was on board the plane, told Fairfax Media the decision was "unacceptable and disgusting" and that, "if they think this will go away, it definitely won't".
Voice370, an advocacy group formed by families of passengers and crew, said it was "dismayed" by the "irresponsible" suspension of the search and criticised the requirement that the specific location be identified before continuing.
"Extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety. Commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace," the organisation said in a statement.
"We appeal to Malaysia, China and Australia to reconsider the decision to suspend the search."
But the Transport Minister said: "We don't want to provide false hope to the families and friends.
"That doesn't rule out the fact, in future, whether through better analysis of data, if new technology becomes available or through improved equipment or something of that nature, we may have a breakthrough in the future," he said.
The aircraft disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Most of the passengers were Chinese or Malaysian and six were Australian.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott, whose government initiated the Australian participation in the search, said he was "disappointed that the search for MH370 has been called off. Especially if some experts think there are better places to look."
Responding to Mr Abbott's comment, Mr Chester said his former leader "was directly involved in the initial search so he has a deep and personal interest in the issue" and said it was disappointing and frustrating for all involved, especially for families.
Mr Chester said: "No one is coming to me as minister and saying: 'We know where MH370 is'. The new information, if you like, or the position put forward by the experts has been, if you were going to extend the search into a new area, this is where you would target next."
Mr Turnbull said the government deeply regretted that the plane has not been found in the "unprecedented" search effort.
"We grieve with the families of the victims and we share their deep disappointment that the plane hasn't been found," he said.
"As the minister said this morning, if new evidence emerged that pointed to another location, then the three nations can consider searching there."
Greg Hood, ATSB Chief Commissioner, said there was analysis of oceanic debris drift and satellite imagery that was ongoing and due to conclude in February.
"This has been the largest and most challenging underwater search operation in history and we have a high degree of confidence the aircraft is not in the area in which we have searched," he said.
Mr Hood said the search vessels had been scouring an area with depths of 3500 to 6000 metres and faced tropical cyclones and waves up to 20 metres high.
"I never thought this day was going to come. I hoped it wouldn't happen this way . . . It just can't end like this. The Malaysian government promised to bring them home. If they think this will go away, it definitely won't," Mrs Weeks told Fairfax Media on Tuesday evening.
"I won't accept it. None of us will. They won't get away with this and we'll just keep fighting."
