Airline passengers left with burst eardrums, bleeding noses

Multiple passengers on a budget flight suffered ruptured eardrums and bloody noses following pressurisation issues 10,000 feet in the air.

Multiple passengers on a budget US flight suffered ruptured eardrums and bloody noses after the aircraft encountered pressurisation issues at 10,000 feet.

The incident took place on a Delta flight out of Salt Lake City in Utah on Sunday, leaving passengers in a state of distress.

“I grabbed my ear, and then I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,” passenger Jaci Purser told local TV station KSL of the “stabbing” pain in her ear.

She told the Salt Lake City outlet she felt her ear pop from the pressure in the cabin, then bubble.

Jaci Purser and another passenger hold a cloth on their ears on board a flight that had cabin pressurisation issues. She said she felt her ear pop from the pressure in the cabin before it started bleeding. Picture: KLS

The Boeing aircraft was carrying 140 passengers en route to Portland, Oregon when the plane was “unable to pressurise above 10,000 feet” and “oxygen masks did not deploy,” a spokesperson for the airline told People.

“I looked over at my husband, and he had both of his hands over his ears, you know, kind of leaning forward,” passenger Caryn Allen told KSL.

Paramedics outside of the Delta Air Lines gate. Picture: KLS

“I looked about a row behind me, over on the other side of the aisle, and there was a gentleman that clearly had a very bad bloody nose, and people were trying to help him.”

Passengers said they also felt the plane dip before it was rerouted back to Salt Lake International Airport, where at least 10 people required medical evaluation or treatment, according to the airline. No serious injuries were reported.

The airline apologised to passengers and accommodated on another flight. Picture: Brandon Bell/Getty Images via AFP

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on September 15,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.

“The flight crew followed procedures to return to SLC where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs.”

Passengers were accommodated on another flight and Delta technicians fixed the pressurisation issue on the aircraft, the airline said.

The plane was returned to service the following day, the outlets reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the matter is under investigation.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission