Troubled national carrier Malaysia Airlines is facing another controversy with a member of its cabin crew detained in France for "inappropriate sexual behaviour" against a passenger.

Confirming the matter, MAS said its crew member was detained for questioning over the incident which allegedly happened on board a Kuala Lumpur-Paris flight on Aug 4.

"Malaysia Airlines expects and accepts nothing short of the highest standards of conduct from its crew and takes any such allegations very seriously.

"We will naturally assist the French authorities as they conduct their investigation and would stress that the safety, comfort and well-being of our passengers are always our highest priority," MAS said in a brief email to Malaysiakini .

This follows a report by French news portal FranceTVInfo that a MAS crew member is being investigated for allegedly "sexually assaulting" an Australian passenger.

Nervous about MH370

The incident allegedly happened when the passenger expressed nervousness about flying over the Indian Ocean, following the disappearance of MAS flight MH370 last March.

The report stated that the crew had allegedly sat next to the passenger under the pretext of comforting her before "sexually assaulting" her.

It said that French investigation sources told newswire AFP that the passenger reportedly lodged a report with French border police upon arrival. 

The crew member was detained on Aug 7.

No other details were provided in the French news report.

MH370 disappeared off radar screens on March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but search efforts are still ongoing.

This, coupled with the downing of MH17 over a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, has further strained the loss-making company.

In response, MAS owners Khazanah Nasional Bhd last week proposed a buyout of MAS at 27 sen a share, or RM1.4bil, in a bid to delist and overhaul the airline.