A bit of unwelcome news at this late hour – and that is Indonesia Air Asia flight QZ8501 operating a flight from Surabaya-Juanda International to Singapore Changi has been reported missing according to Sky News as well as BBC News.
CNBC states:
Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, flight number QZ8501, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 6:17 a.m local time. (2317 GMT).
He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact.
A formal press release from Air Asia (via Facebook) has appeared, stating:
AirAsia Indonesia 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.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.
At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.
AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.
AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/airasia/news-update-airasia-indonesia-flight-qz8501/10152667738358742
A second statement giving more detail has been released stating:
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 (Surabaya LT) this morning. The flight took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 0535hours.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. There were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board.
The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours
There were 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant. Also on board were 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.
Nationalities of passengers and crew onboard are as below:
- 1 Singapore
- 1 Malaysia
- 1 France
- 3 South Korean
- 156 Indonesia
At this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of The Indonesia of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). AirAsia Indonesia is cooperating fully and assisting the investigation in every possible way.
The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.
AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.
AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/airasia/updated-statement-qz8501/10152667884908742
Indonesia Air Asia (The operators of the flight) fly Airbus A320s on this route, with a reported 162 people (155 passengers, 7 crew) aboard. The Aircraft – PK-AXC is an Airbus A320-200, delivered on 16th October 2008 from Airbus, leased from Doric. This puts the plane at around 6 years old.
The story is developing.
Update log.
- Update 1 – Added Air Asia statement, corrected passengers aboard with numbers from AFP feed.
- Update 2 – Added reported passengers aboard.
- Update 3 – New statement from Air Asia.
