On Wednesday night, a Ryanair flight encountered severe turbulence, leading to an emergency landing at Memmingen Airport in Germany. The flight, which departed from Berlin en route to Milan, Italy, was forced to divert to Memmingen, approximately 70 miles west of Munich, due to turbulent weather caused by thunderstorms. As a result of the turbulence, nine passengers sustained minor injuries, including a woman with a head injury and her two-year-old child, as well as a 59-year-old woman experiencing back pain. These three individuals were taken to the hospital for treatment, while the others received medical attention on-site.
Ryanair issued a statement on Thursday, indicating that the pilot had requested medical assistance before the emergency landing. The airline also mentioned that an alternative flight had been arranged to transport passengers to Milan and expressed apologies to those affected by the incident.
Local authorities previously stated that due to the airline regulator’s delayed approval for the flight to continue, Ryanair had initially arranged for buses to transport passengers. Weather conditions at Munich Airport prevented the aircraft from landing there, resulting in the diversion to Memmingen, where the aircraft landed safely at 20:44 local time.
The flight had a total of 179 passengers and 6 crew members on board, with injured individuals ranging in age from 2 to 59 years old. As a precautionary measure, all passengers underwent medical evaluations.
The incident occurred amid thunderstorm weather in southern Germany. Some passengers reported being thrown from their seats to the cabin ceiling during the intense turbulence. According to Bild, a German newspaper, some passengers were not wearing seat belts when the turbulence struck, with the injured mother and child reportedly in the restroom during the ordeal.
Media reports also indicated that some passengers felt that the airline had not adequately warned them to fasten their seat belts during the turbulence.