SURABAYA - Some families of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 found themselves evicted from their hotel on New Year's eve because rooms were fully booked for the new year.

Detik news reported that Hotel Halogen, located near Surabaya's Juanda International Airport, had removed the luggages of the families without informing them.

One family member told Detik that AirAsia told them that they could stay until Thursday. They were shocked to find their luggage outside their rooms.

A few hours earlier, AirAsia Indonesia CEO Sunu Widiatmoko said at a press conference that rooms were hard to find on New Year's eve, and families will be moved on Thursday, reported Detik.

A hotel receptionist was quoted as saying that the decision to remove the luggage from the rooms was approved by AirAsia.

Search teams are currently battling turbulent weather and rough seas to locate the Airbus 320 jet, which crashed into the Java Sea on Dec 28. Several bodies have been recovered so far, with no survivors found.