AirAsia X flight makes precautionary landing in Brisbane

It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Even though it can be an inconvenience, we’d always prefer spending a bit of extra time on the tarmac, even if they have to turn off all the power because that is the problem. And we’d certainly prefer that our pilots make a diversion and precautionary landing at the nearest suitable airport if they aren’t comfortable with something. That’s what AirAsia X flight D71221 had to do during last night’s flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. They’d been flying along smoothly at a bit over ten thousand metres, when they can be seen (on FlightRadar24) to make a sharp U-turn just north of Windorah in western Queensland. The closest suitable airport being Brisbane, they maintained height at a little over three thousand metres and landed safely in Brisbane just before 1am local time. The aircraft had been sitting at the Terminal all day so we sought clarification from AirAsia, just as we noticed they had entered a flight plan for this evening.

Statement re precautionary landing in Brisbane for AirAsia X flight D7 221

SYDNEY, 9th February 2026

AirAsia X (AAX) confirms that flight D7221 from Sydney (SYD) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL), landed safely at Brisbane Airport (BNE) after making a precautionary diversion at 11:56PM local time on 8 February 2026. All 142 guests and 11 crew disembarked without incident.
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew observed an alert related to cabin pressure. While the cabin pressure remained at a safe level, the Captain chose to make a precautionary diversion to Brisbane airport, in line with established operational safety procedures. The aircraft will undergo a detailed engineering assessment in line with safety protocols.
Once the aircraft has been assessed and deemed safe to operate, guests will continue their journey to KUL. The newest estimation of time of departure from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur is 7:00pm on Monday 9 February. All guests have been accommodated, and service recovery options are being offered.

The statement also included a statement from AirAsia X General Manager, Benyamin Ismail:

…. This precautionary diversion was carried out in line with our operational safety procedures. Our flight crew are highly trained in safety procedures and took the appropriate measures for an issue of this nature. Guests were kept informed by the crew, and have all received accommodation and food vouchers while travel arrangements are being made. We sincerely thank our guests for their patience and understanding throughout the situation.Benyamin Ismail

We are pleased to note that at the time of writing, the aircraft and passengers are now on their way to Kuala Lumpur as XAX221D, after taking off at 8.25pm local time and are currently approaching Darwin at 40,000ft.

image from FR24