Malaysia Airlines flight turns back over pressure problems

A Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport due to pressure problems on Saturday.

The plane was flying to Tokyo but after an hour in the air it returned to Kuala Lumpur as it was unable to maintain the correct pressure inside the aircraft, AFP reports.

"It was not able to maintain the right pressure differential for the comfort of the passengers," said Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

He added that "it is not a major problem."

The Star Online reported that the flight was 50 minutes into its journey when it returned to Kuala Lumpur after taking off at 2.50am.

Passengers were transferred to another plane which departed at 5.15am.

Malaysia Airlines has seen two aviation tragedies this year: the disappearance of flight MH370 on 8 March and the shooting down of MH17 on 17 July while flying over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

A total of 537 passengers were killed in the tragedies.

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