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An EgyptAir flight headed to Cairo with 66 people on board most likely crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, says a spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation agency.
The Airbus A320 disappeared from radar on a flight between France and Egypt, EgyptAir, the country's national carrier, said.
Flight MS804 took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 11.09pm on Wednesday local time (7.09am AEDT), and was scheduled to land in Cairo at 3.15am on Thursday.
However, EgyptAir said in a statement that it had "disappeared from radar" shortly after entering Egyptian airspace.
There are 56 passengers and 10 crew members on board, the airline confirmed.
According to flightradar24.com, the plane's last known position was above the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry says search and rescue teams are looking for the plane.
The plane most likely crashed into the sea, Ihab Raslan, a spokesman for the agency, told SkyNews Arabia.
A ministry source also said technical information about the condition of the plane was being gathered.
Relatives and families of those on board have been taken to a holding room by EgyptAir for further updates.
The airline said on Twitter that concerned relatives from outside Egypt could phone +202 259 89320 for more information.
Ahmed Adel, the vice-chairman of Egyptair, told CNN the plane's captain had 6000 flying hours, while the first officer had 4000 hours of flying experience.
"The total souls on board are 66," Mr Adel said. "The breakdown of the passengers are 53 adults, two infants and one child.
"The crew, we have a total of 10. That includes two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security."
EgyptAir said the flight was cruising at 37,000 feet when it disappeared from radar at 2.45am, Cairo time, about 16 kilometres, or about 10 minutes, inside Egyptian airspace.
The weather at the point where the plane disappeared from radar was reported to be clear.
Ehab Mohy el-Deen, the head of Egypt's air navigation authority, said that Greek air traffic controllers notified their Egyptian counterparts that they had lost contact with the plane.
"They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished," he said.
He added that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the disappearance or the fate of the airplane, "but this is not normal, of course".
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said Australian consular officials had been alerted about the missing aircraft, and were seeking details about whether any Australians were on the flight.
France's aviation authority could not immediately be reached for comment.
Egypt's tourism hard hit
With its ancient archeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a popular destination for Western tourists.
But the industry was badly hit following the downing of a Russian jet last year, the hijacking of an EgyptAir jet in March, the ongoing Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks in the country.
In an unrelated incident in March, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked during a flight from Alexandria to Cairo.
Egyptian Seif Eldin Mustafa, wearing what appeared to be a suicide belt, took over the aircraft and forced the pilots to fly to Cyprus, where he hoped to be reunited with his estranged wife.
After a six-hour hostage drama, the hijacker was arrested after giving himself up. The "bomb" was later found to be fake, and no one was injured.
An Airbus A321 operated by Russia's Metrojet crashed in the Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. Russia and Western governments have said the plane was most likely brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive on board.
An EgyptAir mechanic, whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria, is suspected of planting the bomb.
EgyptAir has a fleet of 57 Airbus and Boeing jets, including 15 of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, according to airfleets.com.
The last fatal incident involving an EgyptAir aircraft was in May 2002, when a Boeing 737 crashed into a hill while on approach to Tunis-Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
In October 1999, the first officer of a Boeing 767 deliberately crashed the plane into the Atlantic Ocean about 100 kilometres south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 217 people on board.
– The Age, With Reuters, AP, AAP, New York Times