The AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control late on Saturday night
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A major search operation is under way after an AirAsia passenger plane went missing as it flew from Indonesia to Singapore. Here's what we know so far:
- AirAsia flight QZ8501 left the Indonesian city of Surabaya for Singapore at 5.35am local time on Sunday morning. It lost contact with air traffic control at 7.24am.
- There were 162 people on board - 155 passengers, and 7 crew members.
- The pilot had asked for permission to fly higher to avoid clouds shortly before the plane disappeared.
- The plane was last seen between the Indonesian island of Belitung, and Pontianak in Borneo. There was bad weather over Belitung at the time.
Obama briefed on missing plane
US President Barack Obama has been briefed on the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ 8501, White House spokesman Eric Schultz has confimed.
Obama was briefed on the situation while on holiday with his family in Hawaii.
No Americans are listed on board.
Flight manifest released
A flight manifest for Flight QZ8501 has been released with the Indonesian transport minsitry.
It lists 154 people as having boarded, while 23 people did not show up for the flight.
Foreign Office investigates report of Brit on board
The Foreign Office is investigating reports that a Briton was on board the missing plane.
An official from Surabaya's Juanda airport said a Brit had been among those travelling on QZ8501, but an AirAsia statement listed the nationalities of passengers and crew as Indonesian, South Korean, Singaporean, Malaysian and French.
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 president prays
Indonesia's president says he is praying for the passengers on board Flight QZ8501.
His wife Iriana tweeted to say that Joko Widodo had instructed the country's National Search and Rescue Agency, National Transport Safety Committee, army and police to help with the search.
She added: "[The] President prays that the entire crew and passengers of AirAsia QZ8501 can be found."
AirAsia CEO heads to airport
The CEO of AirAsia Tony Fernanes is on his way to Surabaya, where the QZ8501 took off from this morning.
He promised to give out more information as soon as it was available.
Rescue teams sent out
We're getting a few more details about the hunt for the plane.
Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency is understood to have sent a rescue team to the island of Belitung - near where the plane lost contact with air traffic control.
Singapore has also sent its air force and navy to help in the search and rescue operation.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said: "Two C130s are already on stand-by for this purpose. We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort."
Recap
Here's what we know so far:
AirAsia flight QZ8501 left the Indonesian city of Surabaya for Singapore at 5.35am local time on Sunday morning. It lost contact with air traffic control at 7.24am.
There were 162 people on board - 155 passengers, and 7 crew members.
The pilot had asked for permission to fly higher to avoid clouds shortly before the plane disappeared.
The plane was last seen between the Indonesian island of Belitung, and Pontianak in Borneo. There was bad weather over Belitung at the time.
No distress signal
No distress signal was sent by flight QZ8501, air transportation director at Indonesia's transport ministry, Joko Muryo Atmodjo, has said.
AirAsia said the aircraft was on its submitted flight plan route, and had requested a deviation due to weather conditions before communication was lost.
The plane was between Tanjung Pandan in Indonesia and the town of Pontianak on Borneo island when it disappeared.
Tanjung Pandan is the main town on Belitung island, roughly half way between Surabaya and Singapore, and there was bad weather over the island at the time.
Desperate wait for news
Family members of passengers from the missing plane have begun to gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya.
Many have been seen in tears as they desperately wait for news.
An Indonesian woman at Singapore's Changi Airport, where the plane had been due to labd, said her sister and other family members, including two children, were on board.
She added: "No one has told us anything. We heard the news and came to the airport."
Malaysia supports search and rescue
Indonesia AirAsia is 49% owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, and its CEO is Malaysian business mogul Tony Fernandes.
The Malaysian government is supporting the Indonesian search and rescue operation this morning, with Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai currently at AirAsia HQ.
Malaysia has suffered two of its own air disasters this year, with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine in July.
Weather system
This satellite image shows the weather system in the area where QZ8501 went missing.
The crew are said to have asked for permission to fly higher to avoid clouds shortly before the plane disappeared.
'Briton on board'
A Briton is on board the missing AirAsia plane, according to an official from Surabaya's Juanda airport.
Trikora Raharjo, the general manager of the airport, said the British person is one of the six crew on flight QZ8501.
However, no Brits were listed in AirAsia's statement detailing the nationalities of passengers and crew.
Plane had asked to fly higher
Flight QZ8501's crew had asked for permission to fly higher to avoid clouds before it disappeared, an Indonesian transport official has said.
The aircraft was between the Indonesian port of Tanjung Pandan and the town of Pontianak, in West Kalimantan on Borneo island, when it went missing, air transportation director at the Transport Ministry Joko Muryo Atmodjo told a news conference.
The aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds..
Search and rescue operation
The search and rescue operation to try and find the missing place is being carried out under the guidance of the Civil Aviation Authority of Indonesia (CAA), AirAsia says.
"AirAsia Indonesia is cooperating fully and assisting the investigation in every possible way," the airline added.
The company's CEO Tony Fernandes thanked people for their thoughts and prayers, adding "we must stay strong".
Pilot had more than 6,000 flying hours
The flight took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 5.35am this morning.
There crew included two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer.
The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours experience, while the first officer had a total of 2,275 flying hours, AirAsia said.
162 people on board missing plane
AirAsia has given further details of those who were on board the missing flight.
There were 155 passengers, including 138 adults, 16 children and one infant.
There were also two pilots and five cabin crew - bringing the total number to 162.
They said in a statement that the nationalities of those on board were 1 Singapore, 1 Malaysia, 1 France, 3 South Korean, and 156 from Indonesia.
AirAsia confirms missing flight
AirAsia confirmed in a tweet that it had lost contact with Flight QZ 8501.
They said earlier this morning: "AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact at 07:24hrs this morning."
They added on Facebook: "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 flight QZ8501 loses contact
A major search is under way for an AirAsia passenger plane that has gone missing after take off from Indonesia.
Flight number QZ8501, flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, lost contact with air traffic control in Jakarta at 6.17am local time on Sunday - 11.17pm British time.
The Airbus 320-200 had 155 passengers and crew on board, an Indonesian Transport official said.
Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa added the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact.
The flight had been due in Singapore at 8.30 am Singapore time (0030 GMT).
The Singapore airport said on its website the status of the flight was "delayed".
We will bring you live updates throughout the day as this story develops.
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