AirAsia flight to Bali plunges 22,000 feet mid-air: Passengers were saying goodbye, crew screaming

Passengers on board an AirAsia flight from Perth to Bali were terrified when the plane plunged 22,000 feet mid-air due to a problem with cabin pressure.

No injuries to passengers or crew were reported.

The plane was forced to turn around only 25 minutes after leaving Perth International Airport on Oct 15.

Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and passengers were told to get into a "brace" position.

According to a report by Australian news network 9News, the passengers were left in the dark and did not know what was going on.

Leah, who was on board the plane, spoke to 9News and described the ordeal.

"One of the stewardesses started running down the aisle and we thought, why is she running," Leah said.

"And then the masks fell down and everybody started panicking. Nobody told us what was going on."

She also added, "I actually picked up my phone and sent a text message to my family, just hoping that they would get it.

"We were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting."

In a video on Twitter by 7News Perth, the crew can be heard shouting, "Passengers get down, Passengers get down!"

A Bali-bound flight has been forced back to Perth after losing cabin pressure. pic.twitter.com/E6ENGBr1og

— 7 News Perth (@7NewsPerth) October 15, 2017

AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement that flight QZ535 with 145 passengers on board landed safely at the Perth International Airport at 12.40pm. 

"Our engineers are assessing the aircraft. All affected passengers (were) 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."

This is the latest incident in the recent spate of issues involving AirAsia flights in recent years.

In June, an AirAsia X flight en route to Kuala Lumpur from Perth was forced to turn back 90 minutes into the trip due to a technical issue.

Less than two weeks after that, an AirAsia X flight had to divert to Brisbane after a suspected bird strike.

In other news about AirAsia, its CEO Tony Fernandes married his Korean girlfriend over the weekend.