One of the leading low-cost carrier in world, AirAsia, owned by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandez, one of their their aircraft with flight number QZ 8501, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at around 6:17 local time (2317 GMT). The AirAsia Flight is bound for Singapore from Indonesia.
The AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya on its way to Singapore is still missing as of press time. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Indonesia’s air transportation director Djoko Murjatmodjo, the Airbus A320-200 was carrying seven crew and 155 passengers, which include 138 adults, 16 children and a baby.
AirAsia also released an updated statement with regards to the nationality of the 155 passengers on board the ill-fated flight which consisted of 149 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one French national and one Malaysian.
The AirAsia flight had been due in Singapore at 8:30 AM Singapore time (0030 GMT), but the Singapore airport stated on its website that the status of the flight was “delayed.”
According to the latest news gathered by various news agencies, the Transport Ministry stated earlier that the airport had requested an “unusual route” before it lost contact with the air traffic control. Based upon the latest statement of the Transport Ministry, the aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds.
The AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 was between the Indonesian port of Tanjung Pandan and the town of Pontianak, in West Kalimantan on Borneo island, when it went missing.
