Singapore-bound AirAsia flight missing after leaving Surabaya

An AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control, Indonesian authorities said today. – Reuters pic, December 28, 2014.AirAsia Flight QZ8501 with 155 passengers and crew to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control after departing from Surabaya, say Indonesian authorities.

The Airbus A320-200 jet left Surabaya at 5.20am Indonesian time (6.20am Malaysian time) and appeared to have lost contact over Kalimantan, media reports say.

Reuters quoted Hadi Mustofa of the Indonesian Transport Ministry as saying that flight QZ8501 lost contact with Jakarta at 6:17am local time. The aircraft was reported to have requested an “unusual” route.

The flight had been due in Singapore at 8.30am Singapore time (0030 GMT). The Singapore airport said on its website the status of the flight was "delayed".

AirAsia Indonesia, on Twitter, confirmed that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with the air traffic control at 7.24am this morning.

"At present, we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available," it said.

It said that the aircraft was an Airbus A320-200, bearing the registration number, PK-AXC.

"Search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service."

The passengers comprised 138 adults, 16 children and an infant. The crew members consisted of two pilots, four crew members and a technician.

There are 149 Indonesians on board, three Koreans, one Singaporean, one Briton and one Malaysian.

The airline has set up an emergency call centre for family or friends of those on board the aircraft at +62 21 2985 0801.

Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.

Kompas.com reported that the flight was piloted by Captain Irianto with Emmanuel Plesel as the first officer.

Other crew members are Wanti Setiawati, Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi, Oscar Desano, Wismoyo Ari Prambudi and Saiful Rakhmad.

Indonesian Information Ministry air communications director Djoko Murjatmodjo is expected to issue a formal statement later today.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's search and rescue agency in a statement posted on its website said it had received a report at 7.30am local time that contact was lost with the AirAsia plane near Teluk Kumai at 6.17am.

The plane's last known coordinate was at 03 09 15 S – 111 28 21 E and it was supposed to enter Singaporean airspace at 6.52am local time.

It said it had contacted its counterparts in the Indonesian cities of Pangkalpinang, Jambi, Tanjungpinang, Palembang, Pontianak, Jakarta, Banjarmasin and Lampung to conduct a search and rescue operation.

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