Summary

  • Contact with Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost after it left Surabaya in Indonesia

  • The Airbus A320-200 was carrying 162 people when it went missing over the sea en route to Singapore

  • Air search called off at 10:30 GMT due to poor visibility, but sea rescue operation continues

  • The plane had asked to change its flight path due to bad weather, AirAsia says

  • Most on board are Indonesian - one passenger has been confirmed as a British national

  • An emergency phone line for relatives has been set up - +622 129 850 801

Live Reporting

Mohamed Madi, Sarah Fowler, Julia Macfarlane and Heather Chen

  1. Tony Fernandes

    AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes bought the company 13 years ago from a conglomerate owned by the Malaysian government, and turned it from a loss-maker into a successful budget airline. The 28th richest person in Malaysia, he has many links with the UK - he studied at the London School of Economics and owns the football team Queen's Park Rangers.

  2. On board QZ8501

    AirAsia Indonesia released this earlier statement on Facebook, detailing the nationalities of the passengers and crew members on board flight QZ8501:

    156 Indonesians

    1 Singaporean

    1 Malaysian

    1 France

    3 South Koreans

  3. Channel NewsAsia

    tweets: Malaysian Transport Minister @liowtionglai dismisses claims that #QZ8501 has been found

  4. Singapore PM calls Indonesia's President

    BBC Monitoring

    Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called Indonesian President Joko Widodo to offer help in the search operation for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, Singapore's Channel NewsAsia website reports.

    "Two RSAF C-130 search and locate aircraft are on standby. Our ministers will follow up," Lee tweeted. The website said that the Singapore Air Force has placed two C-130 aircraft and ships on standby to assist in the search operation.

  5. Relatives of passengers on board flight QZ8501 wait for news at Surabaya's Juanda Airport.

    relatives wait at Juanda Airport surabaya 28 December 2014EPA
    relatives wait at Juanda Airport surabaya 28 December 2014AP

  6. Search and rescue

    AP: Indonesia's Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan says search and rescue efforts now involve the Indonesian army, the national Search and Rescue Agency as well as Singapore and Malaysia.

  7. Singapore joins search and rescue efforts

    Statement

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore confirms in this statement that Indonesia has accepted its offer to assist in search and rescue operations for the missing Air Asia flight QZ 8501.

  8. Search standby

    Indian media report on social media that three naval vessels and one fixed-wing aircraft are now on standby to assist in search and rescue operations for the missing AirAsia plane.

  10. Aviation and aerospace industries website Flight Global reports that adverse weather conditions over Southeast Asia could hamper the search.

  11. Search under way

    Local media report that the Indonesia National Search and Rescue Agency Bangka Belitung has dispatched one vessel to search for the lost AirAsia flight QZ8501.

  12. Mike Yeo
    Freelance SE Asian military and aviation journalist

    tweets: A Republic of Singapore AF C-130 Hercules has departed Paya Lebar AB on a Search and Locate mission for #QZ8501

  13. AirAsia companies and founder Tony Fernandes have changed their pictures on social media to grey following news of missing flight QZ8501:

    twitterJulia Macfarlane

  14. Flight path

    Flight QZ8501 is thought to have gone missing between Tanjung Pandan on Belitung island and the West Kalimantan city of Pontianak, according to Djoko Murjatmodjo from the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation:

    map

  15. Tony Fernandes
    AirAsia CEO and founder

    tweets: On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it.

  16. Najib Razak
    Malaysian Prime Minister

    tweets: Very sad to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing. My thoughts are with the families. Malaysia stands ready to help.

  17. Saira Asher
    BBC News, Singapore

    Changi Airport official: "Care officers are on hand, with blankets and drinks. There are no AirAsia officials in the holding area in Changi."

  18. Djoko Murjatmodjo
    Director General of Aviation, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation

    said at a news conference in Surabaya: "The plane contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 0612, at the frequency 125.7megahertz. During that contact, the Jakarta Air Traffic Control could still identify the plane on the radar screen."

    "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 38,000ft. We have not received the ELT (distress) signal so our conclusion so far is the plane lost contact at 0617."

  19. A Changi Airport staff holds up a sign to direct possible next-of-kins of passengers of AirAsia flight QZ 8501 from Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, at Changi Airport in Singapore on 28 December, 2014Reuters

    A staff member at Singapore's Changi Airport holds up a sign as he directs people affected by the disappearance of the AirAsia flight QZ 8501.

  20. About AirAsia Indonesia

    AirAsia Indonesia is an Indonesian carrier and is an affiliate of the Malaysian company AirAsia.

    airasiaReuters

    Headquartered in the capital, Jakarta, AirAsia Indonesia operates domestic flights around the Indonesian archipelago as well as international flights to Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Thailand.

    In 2007 AirAsia Indonesia was banned from flying to the EU because of safety concerns - like many Indonesian airlines. However the ban was lifted in July 2010.

    Both AirAsia and AirAsia Indonesia have clean safety records in their 18 and 10-year operating histories. The missing flight, QZ 8501, is the only major incident to have affected the company.