An AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-200 aircraft registration PK-AXC performing flight QZ8501 from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore has gone missing.
The airline has issued a statement “AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.” It is unclear whether the time zone is GMT+7 (Indonesia time) or GMT+8 (Singapore time).
The flight reportedly carried 162 persons on board and had a scheduled departure from Surabaya at 05:20 GMT+7 and scheduled arrival in Singapore at 08:30 GMT+8.
The airline confirms that search and rescue operations are under-way but there is no further information.
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.
Third incident in a year so close to home.