The Chaoyang District People's Court said in a statement that 47 other lawsuits had been withdrawn, after the families settled outside of court with Malaysia Airlines and its international arm, Malaysia Airlines International.

The court said that the compensation ruled on Friday was to cover funeral expenses, emotional distress, and other losses, with each family to receive over 2.9 million yuan ($410,000).

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people vanished from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.

Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the others included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.

Of the original 78 cases brought by families following the plane crash, the court in Beijing said that 23 were still pending.

The families of those passengers "have either not yet applied for a declaration of death or have not yet completed the declaration process", according to the court.

The eight passengers whose families were granted compensation by the court have been declared legally deceased.

The court announcement comes days after Malaysian authorities announced the search for plane would resume at the end of December, a decision welcomed by China's foreign ministry and victims' relatives.

bur-mya/ami

Malaysia Airlines

BOEING