AirAsia flight to Singapore goes missing; Facebook page turns gray for safety wishes

▲ The profile picture and cover photo on AirAsia’s official Facebook page have both been turned gray. (Photo / Screenshot from AirAsia’s official Facebook page)

AirAsia has confirmed that flight QZ8501, which took off early this morning (28th) from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore, lost contact with air traffic control 42 minutes after departure. The profile picture and cover image on AirAsia’s official Facebook page have since been changed to gray, in hopes that both the passengers and the aircraft will remain safe.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 took off early this morning from Surabaya, Indonesia, and was scheduled to arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 8:30 local time. The aircraft, an Airbus A320-200, had a total of 155 passengers and 7 crew members on board — including 138 adults, 16 children, and 1 infant. The nationalities of the passengers were 149 Indonesians, 3 South Koreans, 1 Singaporean, 1 British, and 1 Malaysian. There are currently no reports of any Taiwanese passengers.

Indonesian authorities have stated that the plane is believed to have gone missing in the sea area between Borneo and Java Island, and search and rescue operations are now underway in the Java Sea for the missing flight.