AirAsia flight 8501 missing on way to Singapore; flight started in Indonesia

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: President Obama has been briefed on the plane's loss of contact, official says
• 155 people were on board the flight, Reuters reports
• AirAsia Flight 8501 lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday morning
• It was on its way from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore

By Jethro Mullen, CNN 
(CNN) -- The search is on for AirAsia Flight 8501, which lost contact with air traffic control in Indonesia, the airline said Sunday.

Flight QZ 8501 from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Sunday (7:24 p.m. Saturday ET), AirAsia said

"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," AirAsia said in a statement.

The plane took off with 155 passengers and crew on board, the news agency Reuters reported, citing 

Indonesian transport officials.

The flight, an Airbus A320-200, was on its way from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, according to the airline's website.

The plane left Juanda International Airport at 5:27 a.m. Sunday (5:27 p.m. Saturday ET) and was due to arrive in Singapore at 8:37 a.m. Sunday (7:37 p.m. ET), according to the website.

Bad weather might have been a factor in the plane's disappearance, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

"We still had lines of very heavy thunderstorms" when the plane was flying, Van Dam said. "But keep in mind, turbulence doesn't necessarily bring down airplanes."

AirAsia is a Malaysia-based airline that is popular in the region as a budget carrier. It has about 100 destinations, with subsidiaries in several Asian countries.

The airline has a "very good" reputation for safety, CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest said.

The loss of contact with the AirAsia plane comes nearly 10 months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which dropped off radar over Southeast Asia on March 8.

Searchers are yet to find any debris from Flight 370, which officials believe crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said, adding that American officials will continue to monitor the situation.

CNN's Yousuf Basil, Steve Almasy, Holly Yan, Paula Hancocks, Kevin Bohn, and Larry Register contributed to this report.