Passengers aboard a plane that suddenly plunged nearly 26,000 feet have reported hearing a muffled boom before the terrifying mid-flight incident.

The Japan Airlines Boeing 737 was flying from Shanghai to Tokyo on Monday, when it experienced a rapid loss of cabin pressure.

It dropped from 36,000 feet (11,000 metres) to just over 10,000 within 10 minutes.

As cabin pressure dropped and oxygen masks were released from the ceiling, some of the 191 passengers on board woke gasping for air.

“I heard a muffled boom, and the oxygen mask fell off in a few seconds. The stewardess cried and shouted to put on the oxygen mask, saying the plane had a malfunction,” one passenger said.

Another passenger described waking up to panic throughout the cabin.

“The plane started plummeting violently at around 7pm and dropped to 3000 metres,” they said.

Flight JL8696, a code-share service operated by budget carrier Spring Airlines Japan from Shanghai’s Pudong airport to Tokyo’s Narita, was diverted to Osaka. It made an emergency landing about 8.50pm local time.

“My body is still here, but my soul hasn’t caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial,” The South China Morning Post quoted one passenger as saying after the frightening experience.

No one on board was injured.

However, passengers have also claimed they had to wait more than an hour on the tarmac after their emergency landing before they were allowed off the plane.

They have reportedly been offered ¥15,000 yen ($A158) compensation each, but only if they contact the airline directly.

The Japanese government has since said that the pilots of flight JL8696 contacted air traffic control when the aircraft triggered an alert about an irregularity in the pressurisation system that maintains cabin air pressure. The affected Boeing remained grounded later in the week.

Spring Airlines Japan cancelled several flights between Tokyo and Shanghai in the days after the alarming incident, citing “ship rotation”.