Malaysian Airlines chief executive Christoph Mueller has resigned after less than one year of leading the carrier's reorganising efforts.

The airline had suffered years of financial losses even before it was hit by two major disasters in 2014.

Flight MH370 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and is still missing, while MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Mueller said he was leaving due to "changing personal circumstance."

He took up his role in May 2015 to oversee a $1.56bn (£1.1bn) turnaround plan which included massive job cuts and dropping unprofitable destinations.

"We are very disappointed to lose Christoph as CEO but we fully understand his reasons and respect his need to do this," Malaysian Airlines Chairman Md Nor Yusof said.

Mueller will continue to serve until September 2016 and will stay on the board as a non-executive director.

The carrier has already begun to look for a new chief executive and says it is considering both internal and external candidates.

It said that Mueller had set up a strong management team which would be the foundation for a successful turnaround.