UPDATED 9.26PM: Major search and rescue operations are underway after an AirAsia flight lost contact with air traffic controllers.

AirAsia have confirmed there are 155 passengers on board the Airbus A320-200, and seven crew, including two pilots and five cabin crew. 

Their nationalities have been listed as: 157 Indonesians, three Koreans, one Malaysian, and Singaporean.  

That number includes 16 children and 1 baby.

At this stage it appears there were no New Zealand nationals on the flight. 

The flight, QZ 8501, was on route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Changi Airport, Singapore. 

The Malaysian-based airline have confirmed contact was lost with the plane around 7.24am Singapore time (12.24pm NZ time). 

Transport Ministry aviation director-general Djoko Murjatmodjo says the plane's last contact with air traffic control was five minutes before it went missing.

The plane had asked to shift from its flight path because of cloudy weather, and elevate to 38,000 feet.

The plane had enough fuel for three hours flying time from the point they lost contact, which was 12.30 this afternoon our time when it was thought to be over the Java Sea.

An emergency hotline has been established for friends and family members of those on board.

Search operation underway 

The Indonesian air force said two of its planes had been dispatched to scour an area of the Java Sea, southwest of Pangkalan Bun in Kalimantan province.

"The weather is cloudy and the area is surrounded by sea. We are still on our way so we won't make an assumption on what happened to the plane," said Indonesian air force spokesman Hadi Cahyanto.

The airforce spokesman said the surveillance plane was on its way to an area near the Bangka-Belitung islands.

"The plane is equipped with a camera as well, where we can observe objects on sea or land," he said.

Singapore has offered help from its navy and air force.

AirAsia says "search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service".

 

'No mayday call'

Aviation commentator Peter Clark has told Sky News it disappeared in highly trafficked airspace.

He says mayday calls would have been heard by other aircraft in the area, so it seems no mayday call has been made.

Clark says any route change the plane requested appears to be routine at this stage.

He also says AirAsia is a major carrier, with plenty of experience.

"It's been around a long time, it operates to something like a hundred destinations in Asia, and it has the A320 as the backbone of its fleet."

Poor safety standards

Indonesia, a vast archipelago with poor land transport infrastructure, has seen an explosive growth of low-cost air travel over recent years.

But the air industry has been blighted by poor safety standards in an area that also experiences extreme weather - although AirAsia said the missing jet last underwent maintenance on November 16.

The company swiftly replaced its bright red logo to a grey background on its social media page

AirAsia is led by flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001. It has seen spectacular success and aggressive growth under his low-cost, low-overhead model.

Mr Fernandes tweeted: "Thank you for all your thoughts and prays (sic). We must stay strong."

While its rival Malaysia Airlines faces potential collapse after two disasters this year, AirAsia confirmed this month its order of 55 A330-900neo at a list price of $15 billion.

More trouble for Malaysian aviation

The latest incident comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysian aviation.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, disappeared in March after inexplicably diverting from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing course. No trace of the aircraft has been found.

Just months later MH17 went down in July in rebellion-torn eastern Ukraine - believed to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile - killing all 298 aboard.