AirAsia Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya,indonesia to Singapore Missing and believed to have crashed in sea Sunday Dec 28,2014

The AirAsia flight QZ8501 departed Indonesia early on Sunday morning 

It was scheduled to land at Singapore's Changi Airport on Sunday morning 

Pilot contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 6.12am - lost contact at 6.17am 
Aviation experts have suggested the aircraft was likely flying too slow  
There were a total of 155 passengers on board and 7 crew membersNationalities of the passengers and crew include one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one French, one British, three South Korean and 155 Indonesian
Search and rescue operations resumed at 6.00am Monday morning
Unconfirmed reports of wreckage in Java Sea, 100 miles from last sighting
British national named as Chi Man Choi, who was travelling with daughter
The Indonesian head of the search team Bambang Sulistyo said on Monday that the Airbus is most likely 'at the bottom of the sea'

TIMELINE OF AIRASIA FLIGHT QZ8501

• 5.35AM (local time) - Departed Surabaya, Indonesia
• 6.12am - Pilot requests to change the travel height of the plane to an altitude of 38,000 feet
• 6.17am - AirAsia flight QZ8501 loses contact with Jakarta Air Traffic Control
• 6.18am - The flight disappears from radar
• 7.55am - Flight is declared missing

About AirAsia

• Flight QZ 8501 is operated by Air Asia Indonesia

• The company was formed in 2001 in KL, Malaysia

• Joint venture with aviation companies in Thailand, Philippines

• Impeccable safety record – no incidents since 2001

• It is a low-cost airline that flies between 22 countries

• Also travels to Australia, Japan and India

• AirAsia serves longer haul routes including Bali to Perth and Melbourne

Djoko Atmojio, Director General of Aviation, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said that the plane had contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control at 6.12am

InsideSingapore airport, the arrival boards is asking those picking up passengers of QZ8501 to go to the counter

A relatives' holding area has been established at Singapore's Changi Airport

AirAsia has changed the colour of its logo from red to grey as a mark of respect to the missing plane

 Messages for passengers on board the missing AirAsia flight 8501 are placed on a board at Changi International Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 in Singapore

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

The last communication between QZ8501's pilot and air traffic control was when he requested to increase his altitude due to bad weather.  

According to a leaked air traffic control sheet, the plane's speed had dropped to 353 knots, suggesting it was having trouble climbing, perhaps because of severe weather.

Statement from Air Asia regarding the missing plane

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 (Surabaya LT) this morning. The flight took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 0535hours.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. There were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board.

The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours

There were 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant. Also on board were 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.

Nationalities of passengers:

1 Singapore 

1 Malaysia

3 South Korea

1 United Kingdom

149 Indonesia

  

Nationalities of crew:

1 France

6 Indonesia

At this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of The Indonesia of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). AirAsia Indonesia is cooperating fully and assisting the investigation in every possible way.

The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control (ATC).

The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.

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.