An Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed in a remote area of the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all 150 people on board including 16 schoolchildren.
The Airbus plane that crashed in Southern France had taken off from Barcelona airport at 0855 GMT, a spokeswoman for Spain's airport operator Aena said.
A spokesman for France's DGAC aviation authority said the airliner crashed near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of the French Riviera city of Nice. A statement from the prime minister's office said the crash happened in Meolans-Revel, a remote and sparsely inhabited commune in the foothills of the French Alps.
Airbus said it was aware of reports about the crash.
"We are aware of the media reports," Airbus said on Twitter. "All efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We will provide further information as soon as available."
The crashed A320 is 24 years old and has been with the parent Lufthansa group since 1991, according to online database airfleets.net.