Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary hits back at ‘nonsensical claims’ man was sucked out of window mid-flight

O’Leary breaks his silence 

He described those reports as "nonsensical", despite the terrifying incident forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

During his appearance on The Travel Expert podcast, O'Leary confirmed that the aircraft suffered a broken window, causing the cabin to lose pressure. 

He explained that the oxygen masks were immediately deployed and the pilots carried out a rapid descent to a safe altitude, following standard emergency procedures.

O'Leary acknowledged that the incident had been traumatic for everyone on board and apologised to 61-year-old Serbian passenger Ljubisa Karović. 

However, he strongly denied reports claiming Karović had been partially pulled out of the aircraft during the emergency.

"He did not, however, get sucked out the window and all these kind of nonsensical claims," O'Leary said.

Addressing the legal action, O'Leary said that lawyers were continuing to make "more claims by the day" and insisted that Ryanair would respond to them "in due course."

Ryanair under pressure over mid-air Incident

Karović was sitting in seat 11F on a Ryanair flight travelling from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany on 10 July when he was suddenly woken by what he described as an explosion.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said the sound of the window shattering was something he still cannot forget.

"It's the noise before the chaos, the noise that is always there when I close my eyes to sleep," he said.

Karović claims the sudden loss of cabin pressure pulled him towards and through the shattered window during the emergency. 

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

He said fellow passengers, along with his wife Svetlana Grković who was holding onto his legs, managed to pull him back inside the aircraft.

In regards to the incident, Svetlana said: “I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible.”

After landing, Karović was taken straight to hospital, where he was treated for burns and extensive bruising to his right arm, stretching from his chest to his armpit. 

He has since been wearing a neck brace and says he continues to live with ongoing pain.

Karović said the incident has had a devastating impact on him mentally, leaving him struggling to cope with the trauma.

“Mentally I have hit rock bottom,” he said. “As soon as I close my eyes, images appear of the nightmare I experienced.”

His lawyer, Vasilis Tsiaras, has backed his version of events, describing his survival as "nothing short of a miracle".

"When the cabin lost pressure he was hurled out of the window from his chest up and immediately lost consciousness," Tsiaras told The Guardian. 

"He was on that plane heading to Germany to celebrate his brother's birthday. Instead, at 15,000 feet, he ended up with his head and right arm outside the aircraft while it was travelling at more than 600km/h. Imagine that."