Passengers aboard a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Munich endured a frightening mid-air emergency on Thursday morning after a window on the aircraft was reportedly damaged, forcing the flight to return to Macedonia Airport.
According to reports from local media, a loud bang was heard shortly after take-off, followed by what passengers described as damage to one of the aircraft’s windows. The incident allegedly led to cabin depressurisation, causing oxygen masks to deploy.
A passenger who spoke to Radio Thessaloniki claimed that fellow travellers rushed to assist the person seated beside the damaged window, holding them in place while the crew responded to the emergency.
The flight crew immediately declared an emergency and turned the aircraft back to Thessaloniki’s Macedonia Airport, where it landed safely.
Emergency medical services were waiting on the ground. The passenger seated next to the damaged window, believed to be a foreign national, suffered a neck injury and was transported by ambulance to AHEPA Hospital for treatment.
The remaining passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft and remained at the airport while airline and aviation authorities began assessing the incident.
The exact cause of the reported window damage has not yet been confirmed, and an investigation is expected to determine what led to the in-flight emergency.