Mumbai-bound Boeing 787 makes emergency landing after cabin depressurisation, 7 fall ill

Mumbai: A Mumbai-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa made an emergency landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 1:42 am on Friday after experiencing a mid-air cabin depressurisation issue.

According to a Hindustan Times report, seven passengers fell ill during the flight.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (flight ET640, registration ET-AXS) was cruising at 33,000 feet over the Arabian Sea when the cabin reportedly lost pressure. Pilots executed a rapid descent to a lower altitude, following standard emergency protocols.

Upon landing at 1:42 am local time, seven passengers were treated by the airport’s medical team for decompression-related symptoms. One of them was hospitalised, according to the report.

Similar incident on Air India flight

This incident comes just days after a similar event on June 23, when 11 people, including six crew members, reported nausea and dizziness aboard an Air India Heathrow-Mumbai flight (AI130) operated with a Boeing 777.

The flight also faced cabin depressurisation, prompting a descent to a safer altitude. A few individuals received medical care upon landing and were later discharged.

While the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines incident is yet to be officially confirmed, experts note that pressurisation failures, though rare, can occur due to technical malfunctions. In such cases, oxygen masks deploy automatically to help passengers breathe at high altitudes where oxygen levels are low.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been notified about the Air India incident, and an investigation is underway. The Ethiopian Airlines episode is also expected to be reviewed by aviation authorities.