Family of missing Briton, Chi Man Choi, on AirAsia flight 'preparing for the worst'

Chi Man Choi's brother said he was preparing his parents for the worst

Chi Man Choi, identified in the passenger manifest for QZ8501, was the managing director for a branch of an Indonesian energy company (LinkedIn)

The family of Chi Man Choi, identified as the Briton on board the missing AirAsia flight, is said to be “preparing for the worst”.

Mr Choi, 48, was travelling with his 2-year-old daughter from Indonesia to Singapore on the flight, when it went missing on Sunday morning.

His brother, Chi-Wai Choi, has now told the Sun: “We know it is not looking great. We are prepared for that.

“It doesn’t look good at the moment. I am sure if there was anything to find then they would have found it by now. We are just holding it together for my parents.”

Mr Choi had just started a new job in Indonesia as a unit managing director for Alstom Power, but was flying back to Singapore to be with his wife’s family.

A map of where the AirAsia flight QZ8501 went missing

The man and his daughter were travelling on flight QZ8501 because an earlier plane was full.

Friends believe Mr Choi had tried to get four seats for the family on an earlier flight, but were unable to do so.

Mr Choi’s wife is believed to be waiting at Singapore Changi Airport for further news.

The British man lives in Singapore, but was born in Hull in Yorkshire. He attended Kelvin Hall School in the city and former pupils took to Twitter to remember their old schoolmate.

Andrea Dinsdale wrote: “I remember Chi Man, Chi Wai and Suzi Choi from Kelvin Hall High School. Very clever young man & never without a smile.”

The Airbus A320-200 lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6.24am local time, just two hours after it took off.

Due to poor weather, the pilot had earlier requested to deviate from the agreed flight route, AirAsia said.

The chief executive of the company, Tony Fernandes, wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for all your thoughts and prays. We must stay strong.”