Footage has emerged of the moment panicked passengers on-board an international flight noticed midair the plane door was partially open before the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing.

The Jin Air flight carrying 163 passengers was bound for Busan, South Korea but returned to Cebu, the Philippines, 40 minutes after takeoff on Sunday when one of the plane's doors was found to be "leaking air".

A video of the incident shot by a passenger inside the Boeing 737-800 jet shows a gap between the door and the door frame as the plane travelled approximately 10,000 feet above ground.

Passengers reportedly suffered headaches and felt "pain in their ears" but no injuries have been reported.

The amateur cameraman can be seen putting his hand through the open door in an apparent bid to demonstrate the size of the gap.

Passenger Kim Jin-bae said a feeling of dread washed over him during the incident.

"I thought I would die here because I was numb with a headache," Mr Jin-Bae said.

The plane safely landed in Cebu before passengers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on later flights.

The incident has prompted South Korea to review safety at six low cost airlines after the South Korean budget carrier made an emergency return to the Philippines.

The transport ministry said Monday that the safety investigation comes as the ministry looks into the Jin Air incident.

Jin Air Co confirmed one of the plane's doors was found to be leaking air.

The company said its initial investigation found no defect in the jet. No injuries were reported but local media reports said passengers complained of a loud noise and suffered from headaches during the return trip.

Jin Air is an affiliate of Korean Airlines, South Korea's largest airline.

In recent years, budget airlines have become popular for flights between the Korean Peninsula and Jeju island in the south of the country.

They are expanding international routes to Asian countries, heightening competition and squeezing the bottom line of full service airlines.

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