What is an airplane cabin?

Short answer

The term "cabin" can refer to two spaces: the flight deck or cockpit, where the pilots operate the aircraft, and the passenger cabin, the pressurised compartment occupying most of the fuselage. Both are kept at a pressure equivalent to an altitude of no more than about 2,400 m (8,000 ft).

Published: September 21, 2026 · Updated: September 21, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Boeing 747-8I flight deck BeltyukovAlex Beltyukov (CC BY SA), vía commons

The flight deck

The flight deck occupies the nose of the aircraft and, since the 2001 attacks, has been separated from the passenger cabin by an armoured door. The two pilots sit facing screens that replaced analogue instruments starting in the 1980s: artificial horizon, speed, altitude, navigation and systems status. Between them, the pedestal holds the throttle and flap levers; above, the overhead panel groups fuel, hydraulics, electrics and pressurisation controls. An Airbus is flown with a sidestick; a Boeing, with a control column. Everything is duplicated so that either pilot can fly the aircraft alone.

The passenger cabin

The passenger cabin is a pressurised tube containing seats, galleys, lavatories and overhead bins. Narrow-body aircraft have a single aisle; wide-body aircraft have two. Cabin crew have folding seats next to the exits. The layout is decided by the airline within certified limits: all occupants must be able to evacuate within 90 seconds using only half of the doors.

Why it is pressurised

At 11,000 m (36,000 ft) outside pressure is a quarter of that at sea level and would not allow breathing. The engines bleed air (or it is supplied by electric compressors, on the 787) which is cooled and fed into the cabin; outflow valves regulate the exit flow to maintain a cabin altitude of 1,800 to 2,400 m (6,000 to 8,000 ft). The air is completely renewed every two to three minutes through HEPA filters, which also explains the dryness of the cabin environment.