Passenger Nearly Sucked Out of Window Midair on Ryanair-Owned Flight
A passenger was reportedly left hanging head‑first from a cabin window for several minutes on a Malta Air flight operated by Ryanair. The incident occurred shortly after take‑off from Thessaloniki, Greece, toward Memmingen, Germany.
Witnesses told local media that the man, a Serbian citizen in his 60s, was hanging from his shoulders outside the window. Other passengers managed to pull him back inside before the plane returned to the airport.
Ryanair stated the flight returned “shortly after take‑off when a passenger window dislodged inflight.” It further noted that the aircraft landed normally and all passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger received medical assistance on the ground.
The airline added that a replacement aircraft was arranged to carry the passengers to Memmingen later that day.
Reports from Greece and Germany describe a loud bang, followed by the window breaking and oxygen masks falling from the ceiling. Some passengers believe the window was smashed by engine debris, though Ryanair has not commented on the cause.
“We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams… for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door,” a fellow passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.
The aircraft was believed to be 18 years old and operated by Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary. The Irish Aviation Authority said it was aware of the incident and would cooperate with Greek and Maltese authorities on the safety investigation.
The incident echoes a 2018 Southwest Airlines crash in the United States, where engine debris caused a broken window and a partial ejection of a passenger.
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