Qantas flight turns back after loss of cabin pressure

A loss of cabin pressure at 25,000 feet forced a Brisbane-bound Qantas aircraft to turn back to Auckland shortly after take-off from New Zealand, a spokesman for the airline says.

The Boeing 737 was carrying 91 passengers and crew for the Saturday morning flight out of Auckland, but Qantas spokesman Joe Aston said it was not necessary to treat the malfunction as an emergency.

"The aircraft ... this morning experienced a subtle pressurisation problem at 25,000 feet (7600m) on ascent out of Auckland," Mr Aston said in a statement.

"The cabin was depressurising at a controlled rate but certainly not rapidly or noticeably to passengers. There was never any imminent threat to passengers, the crew or the aircraft."

The incident would not have been noticeable to passengers inside the main cabin of the aircraft and it was not necessary to supply oxygen masks, he said.

The aircraft landed back at Auckland without incident and passengers were transferred to a different plane which arrived in Brisbane just under three hours late.

"The original aircraft is now being inspected by our engineers in Auckland," Mr Aston said.

AAP

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