Why did AirAsia QZ8501 fly last Sunday without approval, says Indonesian portal

Following reports that AirAsia flight QZ8501 had not been cleared to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route last Sunday, there is some confusion as to how it was allowed to fly that day, Kompas.com reported.

"If it is proven that AirAsia flew on a day it was not supposed to fly, the question is how could its flight plan be approved in the first place?"

"It makes little sense that they chose to fly on a Sunday knowing they did not have permission to do so," the online news portal reported, quoting former Indonesian Air Force chief of staff Chappy Hakim.

Chappy told Kompas.com that it was very odd for a flight to commence without a legal basis.

He also did not understand why the Indonesian Transportation Ministry suspended AirAsia’s permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route, after it was found that the low-cost airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays.

Meanwhile, Indonesia AirAsia communication manager Malinda Yasmin said the airline could not provide any information before the investigation was completed.

"We will cooperate with the government during the investigation process," she told The Jakarta Post via SMS.

On Friday night, the Transportation Ministry issued a statement saying that Indonesia AirAsia’s Surabaya-Singapore route would be suspended until further notice due to a violation in its operational times.

The airline was only allowed to fly the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Flight QZ8501 crashed in the Karimata Strait between the islands of Belitung and Kalimantan on December 28. – January 4, 2015.