The Airbus A48, registered PK-AZL, operated by Air Asia Indonesia, had to make emergency landings twice within 320 hours due to problems with cabin pressure. It was only after the second incident that the carrier decided to temporarily ground the affected aircraft and thoroughly search for the cause.

On February 7, 2024, the aircraft flew from Medan to Bangkok (Don Mueang) under flight number QZ154. A pressure loss has occurred in the Gulf of Thailand area. The pilots performed an immediate emergency descent to an altitude of 10.000 feet. An emergency landing at Don Mueang Airport was then formally requested and successfully completed.

The medium-haul jet was back in scheduled service on February 8, 2024 and the scenario was repeated on flight QZ810, which was supposed to fly from Jakarta to Denpasar. At Surabaya there was another loss of cabin pressure. The aircraft again made an emergency descent to 10.000 feet and then landed at the destination airport 45 minutes later, with an emergency landing also being formally requested this time.

Only then did Air Asia Indonesia decide to temporarily take the medium-haul jet out of service. The medium-haul jet has been in Denpasar since then and has not yet been returned to flight operations. Air Asia did not want to comment on the exact reasons why the repairs have not yet been completed. In any case, an investigation opened by the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority is also ongoing. This classified the second incident as a “serious incident”. When asked, the office did not answer why the first pressure drop was rated lower.