The behaviour of crew members on AirAsia's flight QZ535 after the plane lost cabin pressure yesterday has been criticised by passengers.

According to a report in Perth Now, one passenger said the frightening ordeal was made worse by the reactions of the crew.

"The panic was escalated because of the behaviour of staff who were screaming, looked tearful and shocked.

"Now, I get it, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didn't get any, we were more worried because of how panicked they were," said passenger Clare Askew.

Another passenger told Nine News that one of the flight attendants cause panic by running down the aisle.

"We thought 'why is she running?' Then the masks fell down and everybody started panicking.

"Nobody told us what was going on," she said.

A report in Sky News quoted a woman claiming that the panic was exacerbated by the fact that the in-flight recordings being played during the emergency were not in English.

"It was quite scary...We didn't know what was happening because all the records in the plane were in every language but English," said the woman.

'Technical issues'

The news agency also quoted an unnamed boy as saying that he thought he was going to die on that flight.

Flight QZ535 from Perth to Bali had to turn back after about 25 minutes after takeoff. It is unsure what caused the plane to lose cabin pressure.

In a statement, AirAsia said the captain could not continue with the flight because of "technical issues". 

"We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely and complying with standard operating procedure.

"We are fully committed to the safety of our guests and crew and we will continue to ensure that we adhere to the highest safety standards," said Ling Liong Tien, AirAsia group head of safety.

AirAsia said all affected passengers have been transferred to the next available flight and provided with all necessary assistance.

"The safety of passengers and crew is our priority. AirAsia apologises to passengers for any inconvenience caused," said the airline.