An Indonesian man scheduled to travel on the missing Air Asia Indonesia flight with his family has thanked God that chance led him to cancel their tickets just a day before it disappeared.
Chandra Susanto, from Surabaya, in Indonesia, had booked seats on QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore, which lost contact with air aviation control at 6.17am this morning, for his wife and three children to visit his father.
'We had been planning our holiday to Singapore since March 2014 so it was a great surprise for us when we cancelled our holiday yesterday', Mr Susanto told Daily Mail Australia.
He was scheduled to fly with his wife Inge and three children, Christopher,10, Nadine, 7, and Felix, 5, on the Air Asia flight, which has 155 passengers and seven crew on board.
'My father became ill so we had to cancel our flight,' Mr Susanto said.
'It was a difficult decision to make because my son Christopher was so disappointed. He had been looking forward to the holiday for a long time.'
Mr Susanto's name appears on the list of 'no-shows' for the Air Asia flight, along with his wife and children, and 18 others.
The ticket he had printed out showing the booking for the flight is a frightening reminder of how close the family came to being on the plane.
He said that the family had only heard about the missing flight when his sister called to see whether he and his wife were safe.
'I found out about the flight when my sister called me. She was so scared. She had seen the news on tv,' Mr Susanto said.
He said that while he and his family were relieved to not have been on the flight, they were still extremely concerned about those still on board.
'I am very thankful to God for his mercy for me and my family. But I am so sad and very sorry for the people on the plane,' Mr Susanto said.
'They were just travelling to Singapore, maybe with their family, maybe for a holiday. And now they are lost,' he said.
'Our lives have changed. We are so grateful. We have an opportunity to be the best people we can and to help others. We are so thankful to God,' he said.
Distressed relatives of those still on board have gathered at Changi Airport in Singapore and Juanda Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, to await news of the missing flight.
A massive search and rescue operation is currently under way for the plane, and fishing boats and official vessels have been sent out by Indonesia's national search and rescue authority, along with helicopters and Hercules aircraft from Singapore.
There is an unconfirmed report of a wreckage spotted east of Belitung Island in the Java Sea, of the east coast of Samutra, 100 miles from where the plane was last tracked.
The search efforts for the plane’s wreckage are focusing around the area of the Java Sea near Belitung.
Boats have been sent from Tanjung Pandan, the largest town on Belitung Island, but are not expected to reach the area until midnight local time, due to inclement weather and sea conditions.
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