- .The AirAsia flight departed Indonesia early on Sunday morning
- .It was scheduled to land at Singapore's Changi Airport on Sunday morning
- .The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said that the plane had contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 6.12am, and lost contact at 6.17am
- .There were 155 passengers on board, and seven airline crew
- .Nationalities of the passengers and crew include Singaporean, Malaysian, French, British, South Korean, and Indonesian
- .Search and rescue operations are underway by Indonesian authorities
- .There are unconfirmed reports of a wreckage being spotted in the Java Sea, 100 miles away from where the planes was last tracked
- .Fishing boats and official vessels have been sent out by Indonesia's national search and rescue body from the closest port to where the plane was last tracked
A massive search and rescue operation is under way for a missing Air Asia flight bound for Singapore from Indonesia which lost contact with air traffic control after flying through bad weather.
Fishing boats and official vessels were sent out by Indonesia's national search and rescue authority, along with helicopters and Hercules aircraft from Singapore.
There is an unconfirmed report of a wreckage spotted east of Belitung Island in the Java Sea, 100 miles from where the plane was last tracked.
An AirAsia flight - which was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC (pictured above) - that departed Surabaya early Sunday morning was meant to land at Changi Airport
Family and friends arrive at Surabaya airport to learn about their loved ones on-board the missing flight
The last communication between QZ8501's pilot and air traffic control was when he requested to increase his altitude due to bad weather
Boats have been sent from Tanjung Pandan, the largest town on Belitung Island, but are not expected to reach the area until midnight local time, due to inclement weather and sea conditions, reported The Sun Herald.
AirAsia flight QZ8501 departed Surabaya, in Indonesia, on Sunday at 5.30am local time, and was scheduled to land at Changi Airport, in Singapore, at 8.30am (Singapore local time).
The airline confirmed there were 155 passengers on board - including 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant, and have also stated there were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board.
Nationalities of passengers and crew on-board are one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one French, three South Koreans and 156 Indonesians.
However, the British Foreign Office confirmed today that a British national was on board the flight. It is unclear if the person was a dual-citizen.
A spokesman confirmed the Briton's next of kin had been informed and said: 'Our thoughts are with the passengers' families as they await further news.'
According to Indonesia’s Director of Air Transport, Djoko Murjatmodjo, contact with the aircraft was lost between Tanjung Pandan and Pontianak, a trading port city in west Kalimantan about 100 nautical miles south east of Tanjung Pandan.
AirAsia Indonesia has released a statement on Facebook saying that: '[It] regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07.24hrs this morning'.
'At the present time, 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.
'At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.'
Tatang Zaenudin, deputy of personnel at Basarnas, said that the agency was working to approve flights from Australia to aid with the huge operation to locate the plane, reported The Sun Herald.
Air Asia has changed the colour of their logo from red to grey as a mark of respect to the missing plane.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.
Malaysia Airlines, who has lost two carrier engines this year, released a tweet in support of Air Asia
AirAsia have confirmed there were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board
There were 155 passengers on board - including 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant.
The last communication between QZ8501's pilot and air traffic control was when he requested to increase his altitude due to bad weather.
According to a leaked air traffic control sheet, the plane’s speed had dropped to 353 knots, suggesting it was having trouble climbing, perhaps because of severe weather.
Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas, speaking to Sydney’s Channel Seven tv network, said the fact that the pilots had reportedly not issued a distress call suggested that the aircraft might have suffered a sudden, catastrophic event.
Djoko Atmojio, Director General of Aviation, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said that the plane had contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 6.12am.
'During that contact, the Jakarta Air Traffic Control could still identify the plane on the radar screen,' Mr Atmojito said.
'The plane stated that it was trying to avoid cloud and directed the plane to the left of M635 route and asked to go up to altitude 38,00 feet,' he said.
'We have not received the ELT (distress) signal so our conclusion so far is the plane lost contact at 6.17 a.m.'
The flight was scheduled to take two hours and ten minutes, and the plane lost contact 42 minutes into the flight time.
An A320 pilot writing on the aviation forum Aviation.net said the weather as the Air Asia flight headed north east was ‘nasty’ but he believed that it would not be enough to cause a major structural failure.
‘While the weather on the route looks rather nasty, I have always found that the A320 is a really sold aircraft in turbulence,' the pilot, writing from Canada, said
'I've flown it through bad winter storms, tropical thunderstorms and all sorts of combined weather and I’ve never felt that the aircraft was being held together on a hope and a prayer.'
Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact.
Djoko Atmojio, Director General of Aviation, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said that the plane had contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 6.12am
The last communication between QZ8501's pilot and air traffic control was when he requested to increase his altitude to 34,000 feet due to bad weather
There was a lot of wild weather around the area where the flight went missing
He said the QZ8501 flight lost contact when it was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands.
The captain-in-command is listed as Captain Iriyanto - many Indonesians use only one name.
According to the airline, he had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer - understood to be French pilot Remi Emmanual Plesel - has a total of 2,275 flying hours.
The four flight attendants are listed as Wanti Setiawati, Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi, Oscar Desano and Wismoyo Ari Prambudi, along with technician Saiful Rakhmad.
On Christmas Eve, Desano wrote on Twitter: ‘Merry Christmas to all my beautiful friends who celebrate it.’
He also posted a picture of himself wearing his Air Asia identification tag.
Air Asia flies mostly in the South East Asian area, its reach being as far as Sydney and the Queensland Gold Coast.
The airline is headed by prominent South East Asian businessman Tony Fernandes, the owner of English football club Queens Park Rangers.
Mr Fernandes tweeted: 'On my way to Surabaya where most of the passangers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it.'
Flight attendent Oscar Desano (above right) is believed to have been on board the missing flight
On Christmas Eve, Desano (middle) wrote on Twitter: ‘Merry Christmas to all my beautiful friends who celebrate it.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement to Fairfax Media, saying it was checking with the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the Australian High Commissioner in Singapore to see if any of the passengers were holding an Australian passport.
'Those concerned about the welfare of their Australian family and friends who were known to be travelling on this flight should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 (or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas),' the statement read.
The Foreign Office confirmed today it is investigating whether a Briton was on board the flight, following conflicting reports from authorities.
Air Asia said a British national was not on board the plane, but Trikora Raharjo, the general manager of Surabaya's Juanda airport, said he believed there was.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are aware of reports of an incident regarding Air Asia flight QZ 8501.
‘Our thoughts are with the passengers' families as they await further news. We are aware of reports of a British national on board and are liaising urgently with the local authorities to establish further details.’
Indonesian authorities have accepted an offer of help with the search for the missing flight from the Singapore Rescue Coordination Centre.
A C130 aircrafts has been requested, with another on stand-by, according to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
InsideSingapore airport, the arrival boards is asking those picking up passengers of QZ8501 to go to the counter
A relatives' holding area has been established at Singapore's Changi Airport
'A waiting area, and all necessary facilities and support have been set up for relatives and friends of the affected passengers at Changi Airport Terminal 2 (Level 3),' it said.
Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas said time was of the essence when trying to locate a missing plane.
'When the plane loses contact with the control tower the authorities need to start investigating immediately,’ Mr Thomas told Sky News.
'When MH370 went missing it took them a couple of hours to do anything about it, which is far too long.
'It appears that today there have been a couple of hours lag, at least, before something was done.
'But at least there are plenty of daylight hours left.'
Air Asia has changed their logo from red to grey out of respect for the missing plane and those on board
The flight manifest for the aircraft has been released, about six hours after it went missing
Mr Thomas said the flight path meant the aircraft flew over water for most of the route.
'The fact that they asked for a different flight path indicates that they were trying to manoeuvre around the storms,' he said.
'This is also a very heavy thunderstorm area and the weather can be very nasty.'
At Singapore airport, relatives and friends waiting to greet the passengers grew increasingly anxious when they were told that the flight was delayed.
Announcements on the arrivals board and a statement on the airline's website also relayed the information about the flight being delayed.
The flight departed Surabaya airport (pictured) in Indonesia on Sunday morning
It was meant to land at Changi Airport (above) before contact was lost at 7.24am (Indonesian local time)
The scenes were reminiscent of those in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur airports as families and friends became aware that something was seriously wrong when the two doomed Malaysia Airlines jets failed to arrive on schedule.
MH370 disappeared in March while on its way from Malaysia to China when it lost contact. The aircraft has not been seen since.
Five months later, MH17 was flying over Ukrainian airspace when it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. All 298 people on board the flight died, including 38 Australians.
AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number for the hotline is +622129850801.
More to come.
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