Man weeps as he recalls AirAsia flight passenger jokingly saying 'goodbye forever'

A man who cancelled his Singapore-bound AirAsia flight QZ8501 has cried in the interview as he recalled his conversation with one of the passengers shortly before the flight, who jokingly said 'See you in the new year and goodbye forever'.

He also said that he had cancelled his flight two weeks ago as he had something more urgent to do, reported News.com.au.

The man's name has not been given but according to some reports, he was either a friend or a relative of one of the passengers.

Air Asia flight QZ8501 disappeared over the Java Sea after bad weather was reported in the area but no distress calls were made and no wreckage has yet been sighted.

The search for the missing flight, with 162 people on board, was immediately launched with vessels and aircraft from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia but nothing was reported to be found before nightfall.