A Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Brisbane was forced into a rapid descent on Wednesday after the aircraft lost cabin pressure. Passengers on flight VA993 reported oxygen masks deploying as the aircraft descended quickly to a safe altitude before continuing its journey to Brisbane.
The Boeing 737 landed safely in Brisbane only ten minutes behind schedule, with Virgin confirming the incident was caused by a depressurisation event. Air traffic control recordings revealed the pilots declared a PAN call, which indicates an urgent situation requiring attention but not an immediate danger to life.
The airline has said there were no injuries to passengers or crew and that safety was never compromised. Virgin engineers are inspecting the aircraft, which has been taken out of service.
This is the second cabin pressure incident involving a Virgin Australia flight this year, though such events remain rare in commercial aviation. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified and will assess whether a formal investigation is required.
Passengers praised the professionalism of the crew, noting that despite the sudden drop in altitude the flight continued calmly and landed without further issue. Virgin Australia has apologised to customers for the disruption and assured them that passenger safety remains the airline’s top priority. Passengers have been offered counselling.
