Relatives of passengers on board the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda airport in Indonesia, Dec. 28, waiting for news about the disappeared plane. JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty Images
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The missing Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 would have run out of fuel by now, an official said. Djoko Murjatmodjo, acting director of Air Transport at the Ministry of transportation said the plane only had enough fuel to fly for 4.5 hours at max.
"If we are talking about fuel, at this moment, the fuel - if it is still flying – is already finished," Djoko said yesterday.
The plane took off from Surabaya at 5.35 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at 8.30 a.m. at Singapore's Changi Airport. Air traffic control lost contact with AirAsia flight QZ 8501 at 6:17 a.m. on Sunday, shortly after the pilot asked to deviate from its path because of bad weather. Its last known location was above the island of Belitung.
Search and rescue efforts resumed this morning after being halted last night due to bad weather. The plane had 155 passengers and seven crew members on board.
