(Updated 7:02 p.m.) AirAsia Flight QZ8501 asked for a deviation in its flight route due to weather before it lost contact with air traffic control, the airline confirmed in a new statement.
Flight QZ8501, which disappeared from Indonesian airspace en route from Surabaya to Changi, Singapore on Sunday, was carrying seven crew and 155 passengers.
According to the airline's statement, the passengers consisted of 149 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Malaysian, one Singaporean and one Briton. The crew consisted of six Indonesians and one French national.
Search and rescue operations are underway under the guidance of the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority, it added.
AirAsia said that the aircraft underwent its last scheduled maintenance on November 16. It was piloted by a captain with a total of 6,100 flying hours and a first officer with 2,275 flying hours. — BM, GMA News
