Plane with 162 passengers goes missing, no distress call made

The AirAsia plane that went missing on Sunday morning on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore did not send any distress call, said an official from the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation Joko Muryo Atmodjo, reports the Patria news agency.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday after requesting permission to increase altitude to avoid clouds.

The aircraft on flight QZ 8501 lost contact with the control tower in Jakarta at 6:17 a.m. local time, or 17 minutes past midnight Central European Time.

The aircraft is an Airbus 320-200, with 155 passengers on board and seven crew members, owned by the Indonesian company Air Asia.

"After 50 minutes of searching, at 7:08 a.m. the plane was declared missing," said the director of air traffic at the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation Atmodjo.

According to information from the company, both the pilot and co-pilot are experienced. A search and rescue operation has been launched, involving  the Indonesian navy and air force.

On board were 157 Indonesians, 3 Koreans, and one Singaporean and one Briton. The plane was scheduled to land in Singapore around 1:30 a.m. Central European Time.

Singapore's airport on its website lists the flight as "delayed". .