Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501: Unread email saves family of 10 from boarding vanished plane
The Airbus 320-200 was carrying 155 passengers and seven crew when it disappeared while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore
An Indonesian family reportedly missed boarding Flight QZ8501 after they failed to read an email from AirAsia advising them of a change in departure time.
Ari Putro Cahyono and nine members of his family would have boarded the Singapore-bound flight on Sunday had it not been for the unread message.
Ari said he and his relatives had arrived at Surabaya's Juanda International Airport at 5:30am - 10 minutes after QZ8501 departed.
The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 7:20am.
"I did not read the email notifying the change of the departure schedule," said Ari as quoted by kompas.com.
The operator had offered Ari the chance to board the next flight, but he refused after being informed at the airport that air traffic control had lost contact with QZ8501 at around 6.30am.
"My family and I then decided to cancel the trip," he said.
Details of the family's lucky escape emerged after the vice-president of Indonesia said there is a "huge possibility" that Flight QZ8501 has been in an accident.
Jusuf Kalla told a televised press conference: "It has been 10 hours, there is a huge possibility there has been an accident.
"The government is concerned and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of victims."
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It was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
Tatang Zainuddin, the deputy operations chief of Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, said: "We have resumed the search for the missing AirAsia plane at 6.00 am (11pm UK time).
"We hope we can find it soon."
