Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1737 EAT On Friday 10 July 2026

Witnesses told local media that the man, reportedly a Serbian national in his 60s, was left hanging head-first out of the window up to his shoulders for several minutes before fellow passengers managed to pull him back inside the aircraft.

In a statement, Ryanair said its Friday morning flight from the Greek city of Thessaloniki to Memmingen, Germany, returned shortly after take-off after “a passenger window dislodged inflight”.

“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki,” the airline said.

The Irish budget carrier added that a replacement aircraft was arranged to transport passengers to Memmingen several hours later.

Passengers quoted in Greek and German media described hearing a loud bang shortly after the Boeing 737 took off, followed by the window breaking and oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling as the aircraft crew responded to the incident.

Passengers believe the aircraft window was damaged by debris from the jet’s engine, although Ryanair has not confirmed the cause of the incident.

“We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams… for a moment, I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door,” Christina, a fellow passenger, told Radio Thessaloniki.

“The masks dropped and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he had not taken off his seat belt,” she said.

The aircraft, believed to have been around 18 years old, was operated by Ryanair’s Malta-based subsidiary, Malta Air.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirmed it was aware of the incident involving a Ryanair Group aircraft registered and operated by Malta Air, which departed from Thessaloniki on Friday morning.

“The IAA will provide any requested assistance to the aviation safety investigation authority in Greece and the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate to aid their investigation,” the authority said.

The incident has drawn comparisons with a 2018 tragedy involving a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States, where a passenger was killed after engine debris broke a window and partially pulled her out of the aircraft during flight.

-BBC

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