AirAsia flight alerted to possible loss of cabin pressure

PERTH, Australia - AirAsia’s Indonesia bound Flight QZ535 was forced to turn back to Australia after pilots were alerted to a possible loss of cabin pressure.

Airport officials said that the flight was bound for the Indonesian island of Bali, but changed course about 25 minutes after take-off on Sunday.

The Airbus A320 was carrying 151 people at the time and plunged 20,000 feet shortly after the take off but landed safely at the Perth Airport.

AirAsia officials said that the flight experienced a "technical issue.”

Local media reports stated that it had appeared to lose altitude - causing the plane to drop from 32,000 feet to 10,000 feet without warning.

A passenger said, “We were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting.”

Some passengers shot videos on the plane that were broadcast by local media shows oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling and one person shouting "passengers get down, passengers get down.”

Another passenger identified as Claire Askew told reporters that "panic was escalated" by airline staff who were screaming and appeared to be in tears.

AirAsia apologised for the incident in a statement and said that it was "fully committed" to the safety of passengers. 

It however did not elaborate on the problem.

It said, “AirAsia apologises to passengers for any inconvenience caused.”

Adding, “Our engineers are assessing the aircraft. All affected passengers will be scheduled to the next available flight and provided with necessary assistance including meal vouchers. The safety of our guests is our utmost priority. AirAsia Indonesia apologises for any inconvenience caused.”