You don't want to cause panic, wild speculation, knee-jerk reactions, etc.
You mean like what we've been doing?

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.
But you have to admit, the story gets "curious-er and curious-er" as more details are revealed. I vote that the plane was diverted to some little island in the Indian Ocean, and some or all of the passengers and crews are "re-educated" and then they are miraculously found a couple weeks from now adrift in the plane's lifeboats. Think Manchurian Candidate.