Relatives of those on the missing Air Asia flight have gathered in Indonesia and Singapore in a tense wait for information about what happened to the plane.

There were believed to be 149 Indonesians, three Koreans, one Singaporean, one Briton, and one Malaysian on board.

• AirAsia jet ‘missing’ on flight to Singapore

AirAsia is one of the largest low-cost airlines in the world.

The company was founded in Malaysia and by its own account has carried 217 million passengers since 2001.

The scene at Juanda Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia. Photo: AAP

According to AirAsia’s 2013 annual report it transported 42.6 million passengers to 83 destinations in 17 countries.

It has 158 aircraft, all Airbus A320.

It it the fifth-largest airline in Asia by fleet and passenger numbers.

It was honoured in 2014 by the consulting firm Skytrax as the world’s best low-cost airline.

It has not previously announced any major technical incidents.

The plane, which had 162 passengers and crew on board, lost contact with air traffic control around 7.30 am local time, AirAsia said.

AirAsia’s chief executive is Tony Fernandes, who also owns Premier League football team Queens Park Rangers.

He retweeted a message from the airline confirming that Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore had lost contact.

AirAsia said in a statement on its Facebook page: “At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available.

“The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

“At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is co-operating fully and assisting the rescue service.”

No Australians are believed to have been on board.