A Ryanair flight bound for Memmingen, Germany, was forced to make an emergency landing in Greece on Friday after a passenger window detached shortly after takeoff, triggering cabin decompression and leaving one passenger injured.
According to Reuters, two airport sources said a passenger was partially sucked through the dislodged window before the aircraft safely returned to Thessaloniki. Ryanair confirmed the flight turned back after “a passenger window dislodged inflight” but did not explain what caused the incident. The airline said one passenger received medical assistance.
NEW: Ryanair passenger, 61, nearly sucked out of Greece–Germany flight after damaged engine debris shatters cabin window; suffers friction burns pic.twitter.com/L8cpxF1Ad9
— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) July 10, 2026
BREAKING: Ryanair passenger reportedly saved from being sucked out the cabin after window fails during a flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen.According to local media Ryanair flight FR1879, a Boeing 737-8AS, returned safely to Greece on Friday after part of a damaged engine… pic.twitter.com/YPgRodjPFp
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 10, 2026
An eyewitness told Radio Thessaloniki that a loud noise, “like a tyre bursting,” woke passengers before they realized the cabin had depressurized.
“We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams… for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door,” the passenger said.
The witness added that oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and there was a strong smell inside the cabin.
“The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his seat belt,” she said, adding that nearby passengers managed to pull the man back into the aircraft.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the injured passenger, identified as a Serbian tourist, was hospitalized with friction burns but was otherwise in good condition.
Greek media reported the aircraft was flying over North Macedonia when debris believed to have detached from one of the plane’s engines struck and shattered the window. Reuters said two airport sources relayed the same account, though the exact cause of the broken window remains unclear.
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Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the Boeing 737 NG diverting back to Thessaloniki. Reuters also reported that the same aircraft had returned to Thessaloniki on a flight to Sarajevo a day earlier, although the reason for that diversion is unknown.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the aircraft was a Boeing 737 NG and said it was prepared to support the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation. Boeing did not immediately comment.
The president of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees described the incident as “almost a tragedy.” Images and videos from inside the aircraft showed oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling following the loss of cabin pressure.
Ryanair said the aircraft landed normally, passengers returned to the terminal, and a replacement aircraft was arranged to take the remaining passengers to Memmingen.