A harrowing incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from the Greek city of Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, on Friday morning when a cabin window dislodged shortly after takeoff. Witnesses reported that a passenger, believed to be a Serbian man in his 60s, was nearly sucked out of the aircraft, with his head and shoulders hanging outside the window for several minutes before fellow passengers intervened to pull him back to safety. The man had reportedly remained buckled in his seat belt throughout the ordeal.
Passengers on board the Boeing 737 described hearing a loud bang followed by the window shattering and the deployment of oxygen masks from the ceiling. Many travelers speculated that debris from the jet’s engine may have struck the window, though Ryanair has not confirmed this theory. One passenger, identified as Christina, told Radio Thessaloniki that the cabin experienced an immediate decompression, creating a sense of panic as the smell of the incident filled the air. The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt.
Ryanair confirmed in a statement that the aircraft returned to Thessaloniki shortly after departure. The airline noted that the flight landed normally and passengers were returned to the terminal. One individual requested and received medical attention on the ground. A replacement aircraft was later provided to transport the passengers to their destination in Germany. The flight was operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of the Ryanair group, using an aircraft believed to be 18 years old.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has acknowledged the incident and confirmed it is in contact with aviation safety investigators in Greece and the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate to assist with the ongoing probe. This event follows a 2018 incident in the United States involving a Southwest Airlines flight, where a passenger was partially sucked out of a window that had been broken by engine debris, resulting in a fatality.
The aircraft – believed to have been an 18 year-old-plane – was operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air.
