AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia disappears en route to Singapore

Scandinavia / By / 3 Comments /
Flight QZ8501
The electronic screen at Terminal 1 arrival hall showing the details of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 bound for Singapore from Surabaya that lost contact. — PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN

AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. local time on Saturday, AirAsia reported about four hours after the plane disappeared en route to Singapore.

Flight from Surabaya was scheduled to arrive Singapore Changi Airport at 0830H (Singapore time). As advised by the authorities, the aircraft has lost contact with air traffic control.

Changi Airport has set up a Relatives’ Holding Area (RHA) at Terminal 2 to provide assistance to next-of-kin (NOK) of passengers onboard the flight. NOKs are advised to go to the information counter located in the middle of Terminal 2 Arrival Hall (Level 1). Updates will be provided at the RHA to NOKs as and when available.

NOKs can contact Indonesia AirAsia at +62 (21) 2985 0801 for more information

Indonesia’s transport ministry said there are 155 people on board missing Air Asia Indonesia flight QZ 8501 – 149 Indonesians and six foreigners including one Singaporean.

The other foreigners are one British national, one Malaysian and three Koreans. One of the Korean nationals is an infant, said the ministry.

Indonesia’s Metro TV reported that there were 138 adults, 16 children and one infant. It said the plane had two pilots, four cabin crew and one technical staff.

QZ 8501 was travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday morning when it lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control.
“AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 hrs this morning,” said an airline statement.

“Search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service,” said the airline.

AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre for family or friends of those who may have been on board the flight. The number is +622 129850801.

Dan Winther
Follow Dan
Latest posts by Dan Winther (see all)

3 thoughts on “AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia disappears en route to Singapore”

  1. Dan Winther

    Update: 1:20am EST 12/28 Indonesia Air Asia has released
    more information about those onboard the missing flight. In addition to
    155 passengers, there were 2 pilots, 4 flight attendants, and 1 engineer
    (mechanic) on the flight, for a total of 162 people. Of those, 155 were
    from Indonesia. The remainder were citizens of South Korea (3),
    Malaysia (1), Singapore (1), France (1), and United Kingdom (1). Updated 8:40am EST based in new info from the airline

    The captain of the flight had a total of 6,100 hours of flight experience, while the first officer had 2,275 hours.

    Shortly before contact was lost, Flight 8501 had requested a
    deviation from its flight path and a higher altitude in order to avoid
    thunderstorms that were in the area.

  2. Dan Winther

    Update: 12:25am EST 12/28 Indonesian authorities have released
    the passenger manifest for Flight 8501. It shows that the flight had 155
    passengers onboard, including 1 infant.

  3. Dan Winther

    Update: 11:40pm EST 12/27 According the Civil Aviation
    Authority of Singapore (CAAS), flight 8501 was due to arrive in
    Singapore at 8:30 AM local time. Indonesian authorities have activated
    search and rescue operations, and Singapore has offered its assistance.

    The missing aircraft, PK-AXC, was delivered in September, 2008. It
    was operated by subsidiary Indonesia AirAsia, which operates a fleet of
    30 A320s. Across all of its subsidiaries, AirAsia operates 170 A320s.

Comments are closed.