Ryanair passenger partially sucked out of plane before emergency landing in Greece
Passenger partially sucked out of window, sources say as flightRadar24 shows Boeing jet diverted back to Thessaloniki. Ryanair offers no comment on why passenger needed medical help
Published: 05:07 PM,Jul 10,2026 | EDITED : 09:07 PM,Jul 10,2026
ATHENS: Ryanair said one of its planes was forced into an emergency landing at Thessaloniki airport in Greece shortly after takeoff on Friday after a window was 'dislodged', with two industry sources saying a passenger was partially sucked out of it.
The airline said one person received medical assistance, but did not elaborate on the cause.
The plane was scheduled to fly from Thessaloniki to Memmingen airport in Germany but returned to Thessaloniki 'when a passenger window dislodged inflight', Ryanair said in a statement.
FlightRadar24 showed a Boeing 737 NG jet en route to Memmingen diverted back to Thessaloniki on Friday morning.
The same plane had diverted back to Thessaloniki on a flight to Sarajevo on Thursday evening, also shortly after takeoff, according to the data and a source, although it is unclear why.
Local media in Greece reported that a piece of engine broke off and smashed a window during the flight on Friday, causing the cabin to decompress and sucking one passenger partially out of the window. Two sources with knowledge of the incident relayed the same details to Reuters.
Ryanair did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on that account of the incident.
'The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal', Ryanair said in its statement.
Unverified videos posted on social media from the inside of the plane showed a broken window and oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.
A Greek airport source said that the aircraft is still on the ground in Thessaloniki and investigators are looking into the incident.
Greek media reported the incident had occurred over North Macedonia and said the window had been broken by a piece of debris that detached from one of the plane's engines.
Ryanair in a statement said the flight 'returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal'.
A replacement aircraft was made available to transport the remaining passengers to Memmingen, the Irish carrier said. — Reuters