The following statement is posted on its Facebook page and shared via Twitter @airasia as well.
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.
Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216; PK-AXC at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), 2011 By Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
DEVELOPING STORY
KUALA LUMPUR, December 28th 2014 (Sunday): An Indonesia AirAsia flight (QZ 8501) from Surabaya, Indonesia has lost contact with air traffic control on at 6:17 AM (local time, Indonesia) – 2317 hrs GMT.
All times are stated in Malaysian Standard Time (MST, GMT +8:00) unless specified otherwise.
An official from Indonesian Transport Ministry, Hadi Mustofa said the plane asked for unusual route before losing contact with air traffic controller.
The flight is scheduled to arrive Singapore at 8:30 AM but it has yet to arrive.
It is currently unknown whether Flight QZ 8501 has anything to do with the weather or not.
Flight Path
AirAsia QZ 8501 Flight Path – Picture from flightradar24.com
Shortly after departure, the aircraft disappeared at cruising altitude and speed. Main article: AirAsia QZ 8501 flight path
It deviated few degrees by heading from it original route shortly before it disappeared. From weather data near to the point of lost contact, the aircraft is seen traversing through bad weather area.
Passengers and Crew
The Airbus A320-200 had 155 passengers for QZ 8501. The total figure given by TIME is 162.
The flight comprise of 149 Indonesians, 2 Koreans, 1 Singaporean, 1 Briton and 1 Malaysian (source).
The pilot is identified as Iriyanto.
The Aircraft
The aircraft in flight QZ 8501, Airbus A320-200 is registered as PK-AXC. The ICAO-designated PK-prefix means it is registered in Indonesia.
The aircraft has just 4.5 hours of fuel left at the time of disappearance.
The aircraft is confirmed missing as of 7:55 AM while the last contact occured at 7:24 AM (6:24 AM Western Indonesia Time).
Day 1: Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia worked together to search for the missing plane. Australia has also offered assistance of deemed necessary. No positive results have been found.
Day 2: Royal Australian Air Force and Navy has joined the search. As of 11:21 AM, no positive results have been found.
Jurisdiction
The aircraft is registered in Indonesia and owned by an Indonesian company, AirAsia Indonesia. Besides, the incident does not occur in Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysian government is not involved with this incident. Read more here.
Contact Information
AirAsia has established an emergency call centre for family and friends of those who are affected. The phone number is +622129850801.
Thai AirAsia will see 2014 as one of its most dreadful years as it will record the biggest slump in profits in 10 years of history.
The ongoing political crises in Thailand were said to be the major contributing factor of the decline. The company said it will focus more on domestic markets rather than international ones because international market recorded huge drop in profit compared to domestic market.
It does not seem to affect much of AirAsia’s operation in other region though, as indicated y AirAsia’s desire to launch AirAsia Asean Pass, which allows users to pick flights throughout Asean (Southeast Asian) countries using pre-purchased credits. With 137 routes within AirAsia network for Asean alone, users will be spoilt for choice, according to a news report from 3sixty, AirAsia’s travel magazine.
The announcement came in shortly after previous news article by The Star Malaysia highlighting its scucess as Asia’s Best and World’s Best Low Cost Airline by Skytrax for six consecutive years (2009 to 2014).
Boeing 737-800 Malaysia Airlines Delivery Ceremony (Picture Credit: thestar.com.my)
KUALA LUMPUR, December 22nd 2014 – Malaysia Airlines took delivery of its 100th Boeing 737 aircraft. Bearing the registration number 9M-MXY, the aircraft is painted with Malaysia Airlines’ new livery, consistent with other fleet of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800s.
The aircraft was piloted by Capt Kamarozaman Ahmad arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) at 2 PM on Monday and taxied towards Hangar 5 in the airport. A traditional water cannon salute is given to celebrate the arrival of the aircraft.
It first took delivery of a 737-200 in 1972 and has operated the -200, -300, -400, -500 variants of the Boeing 737. Currently, Malaysia Airlines focuses on taking delivery of Boeing 737-800, replacing all aging older-generation Boeing 737 in its fleet.
The aircraft uses Boeing Sky Interior. Malaysia Airlines is also Asia launch customer for the newly-designed interior, which features larger pivoting overhead stowage bins, LED lighting and larger window. Besides, it also has 15% better fuel efficiency compared to previous generation Boeing 737.
According to Malaysia Airlines’ chief executive officer (CEO), Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, the 160-seater aircraft includes better in-flight entertainment and larger pivoting overhead stowage bins.
Boeing 737-800 Malaysia Airlines Delivery Ceremony – (Picture credit: superadrianme.com)
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![Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216; PK-AXC at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), 2011 By Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Indonesia_AirAsia_Airbus_A320-216%3B_PK-AXC%40SIN%3B07.08.2011_617eo_%286068918367%29.jpg)
