Broken window causes panic on Greek Ryanair flight to Germany

Panic ensued on a Ryanair flight from the Greek city of Thessaloniki to Germany's Memmingen on Friday as a shattered window forced the plane to return to the airport of origin shortly after take-off. 

A passenger told dpa that a loud bang was heard during the flight, after which a window pane smashed. The closest passenger was injured, with another eyewitness telling Greek broadcaster ERT that "his head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window."

Other passengers were reportedly able to pull the man back inside. Videos on social media showed oxygen masks dropped in the cabin, while eyewitnesses reported screaming passengers. 

The pilot aborted the flight to Memmingen, in southern Germany, and returned to Thessaloniki Airport. The return journey after the incident is said to have taken about 20 minutes.

The injured passenger, from Serbia, was taken by the emergency services to a hospital in Thessaloniki, Greek broadcaster ERT reported. An investigation has been launched, ERT said.

In response to an enquiry from dpa, Ryanair confirmed the incident and said a replacement flight was organized, taking off at 9:53 am (0653 GMT). 

Ryanair operates flights to Memmingen Airport from various parts of Europe, as well as from Jordan and Morocco. The airport is situated around 100 kilometres west of Munich and just under 120 kilometres south-east of Stuttgart.