The incident involved a Serbian tourist travelling from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany. He was hospitalised with friction burns after the terrifying ordeal.

'His head and shoulders were outside the window'

Passengers said they were jolted awake by a loud bang resembling a tyre bursting, followed by screams from fellow travellers.

"Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting," one passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.

She said the cabin rapidly decompressed, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and a strong smell filled the aircraft.

"We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," she said.

"The masks dropped, and there was a strong smell. The head and shoulders of one passenger were outside the window. Fortunately, he hadn't taken off his seat belt."

Passengers seated nearby managed to pull the man back into the cabin before the situation turned even more dangerous.

Window reportedly detached after engine debris struck aircraft

According to Greek media reports, the window was damaged after a piece of debris detached from one of the aircraft's engines and struck the fuselage.

The incident occurred while the aircraft was flying over North Macedonia, prompting the pilots to turn back to Thessaloniki.

The reported cause has not yet been officially confirmed by aviation authorities.

Ryanair confirms emergency return

In a statement, Ryanair confirmed that the flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after departure.

"The flight returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally, and the passengers returned to the terminal," the airline said.

Ryanair added that a replacement aircraft was arranged to transport the remaining passengers to Memmingen.

No other injuries were reported in the incident.