So, when the cabin is sealed, the interior pressure is equal to the atmospheric pressure at sea level. When the plane lands, the exterior pressure is equal to the interior pressure. So why does the plane need to be pressurised for the duration of the trip?
In: Engineering
Air pressure drops with altitude. At about 10,000 feet, the amount available of oxygen has dropped to a level that some people may have breathing difficulties. By 29,000 feet, the height of Everest, most people will unless they have spent some time acclimatizing. To avoid people passing out or worse at normal flight altitudes there are two options. Either make people wear oxygen masks for the duration of the flight or pressurize the cabin to a level equivalent to a lower altitude.
For the same reason that a bouncy castle has a blower constantly pushing air in, rather than being inflated once and left alone: its *way* easier to make something that is only mostly airtight, and then little leaks aren’t a problem.
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