Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said Sunday the aircraft belonging to a Malaysian low-cost carrier with flight number QZ8501 lost contact with Indonesia’s Surabaya airport 42 minutes after takeoff at 5:35 local time (22:35 GMT).
Mustofa added that the passenger plane went missing after it had asked for an out of the ordinary route over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java Islands.
J.A. Barata, a spokesman for the transport ministry, said the flight was carrying six crew members and 155 passengers, including 16 children and a baby.
AirAsia released a statement saying the plane was an Airbus A320-200 and that search and rescue operations have begun.
The flight was expected to arrive in Singapore at 08:30 local time (00:30 GMT)
