Ryanair crew performance disputed after mid-air window failure

A Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany has triggered a corporate liability dispute after a passenger was partially ejected through a shattered window at 15,000 feet. Ljubisa Karović was pulled halfway out of the aircraft at speeds exceeding 600km/h, surviving only because his seatbelt remained fastened.

The 61-year-old Serbian entrepreneur sustained severe burns and bruising to his right arm, chest, and neck. However, the focus is now shifting to the actions of the cabin crew during the emergency. Lawyer Vasilis Tsiaras alleges that staff were paralysed by fear during the rapid descent, leaving passengers to haul Karović back inside and block the broken window with a suitcase.

"Everyone has agreed that the crew was in a state of shock, afraid that the plane was about to crash," Tsiaras said. "It was the other passengers who rallied and gave Ljubisa water."

Ryanair has rejected these assertions. The airline stated its crew did a "phenomenal job" and noted that safety protocols required everyone to remain seated with oxygen masks during the depressurisation. Once at a safe altitude, the carrier said crew moved Karović beside his wife and arranged for an onboard doctor to assist until landing.

The aftermath of the incident also highlights a gap in the airline's crisis management. Tsiaras stated that Ryanair has only contacted Karović's son to discuss rebooking the flight, rather than offering support to the injured passenger or his wife.

Karović remains in a neck brace and faces a protracted recovery. The lack of direct corporate assistance has hardened his resolve to seek damages. "There should be compensation too," Karović said. "Not only emails that have focused on rebooking the flight."

For a high-volume European carrier, a highly public clash over crew competence and post-incident customer care represents a tangible blow to operational credibility.