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Aviation glossary

Pressurisation

Also: pressurization, cabin pressurisation, cabin altitude

The aircraft

System that keeps the air pressure inside an aircraft higher than outside, so that passengers and crew can breathe normally at high altitude.

What it is

At the 11,000 metres (about 36,000 feet) where many jets cruise, outside air pressure is a little under a quarter of the sea-level value, too low to breathe. The cabin is therefore pressurised: air, normally taken from the engine compressors and conditioned, is pumped in, while an outflow valve controls how much escapes. Regulations limit cabin altitude to 8,000 feet, roughly 2,400 metres, in normal operation.

The pressure difference loads the fuselage once every flight, which is why it is built as a tube and inspected according to the number of cycles flown. Recent types such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 keep a lower cabin altitude of around 6,000 feet (1,800 metres), which is more comfortable on long flights. The 787 also pressurises its cabin with electric compressors rather than engine bleed air.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Airbus A350 XWB

Related terms

FuselageMain body of an aircraft, carrying the crew, passengers and cargo, to which the wings, tail and landing gear are attached. Flight cyclesA unit of aircraft use equal to one take-off and one landing; the main measure of fatigue in the fuselage and in many engine parts. Service ceilingHighest altitude at which an aircraft can operate normally, set either by its ability to keep climbing or by the limit fixed in its certification. APUSmall gas turbine, usually in the tail cone, that supplies electrical power and compressed air when an aircraft's main engines are shut down. Flight levelAn altitude expressed in hundreds of feet and referenced to the standard pressure of 1013.25 hPa, giving aircraft at height a shared vertical reference.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Pressurisation. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation

MLA

“Pressurisation.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Pressurisation.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Pressurisation. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_pressurisation,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Pressurisation}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/pressurisation |title=Pressurisation |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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