An AirAsia flight from Guangzhou, China to Johor Bahru, Malaysia turned back less than an hour after takeoff on Sep. 26.

A passenger on flight AK1395 said oxygen masks were deployed in the cabin and he could smell something burning.

Passenger recounts smelling smoke and feeling pain in his ears

Daniel Phoon shared on Facebook that he and his colleagues had been returning to Johor Bahru after finishing their work abroad.

Less than an hour into the flight, which took off at 3:14am, Phoon was just about to fall asleep when the oxygen masks were deployed.

He quickly woke his colleagues up so they could put on their masks.

Phoon described the flight attendant's voice as sounding "unstable" when she was making an in-flight announcement.

He also recounted feeling pain in his ears due to air pressure, as well as seeing smoke on the plane.

"I also smelled something burning," he said.

Phoon said passengers were not informed of what exactly happened perhaps to avoid causing panic.

"Thanks to the captain, we safely returned to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport," Phoon continued, adding that he was waiting for more information on their return flight to Malaysia and hoped everything would go smoothly.

Flightradar24 data showed the plane touched down in China after 5am.

Sin Chew Daily reported that another flight to Senai International Airport was arranged for the passengers, which departed at 6:20pm that day.

Mothership has reached out to AirAsia for comments.

Top image via Daniel Phoon/Facebook