Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has disputed claims that a passenger was partially sucked out of a plane window during a recent flight, stating the individual was only pulled "towards" the window and remained in their seat.
Serbian national Ljubisa Karović, 61, had alleged that he was pulled partly through a shattered window on a July 10 flight from Greece to Germany due to sudden cabin depressurization. His wife and other passengers reportedly tried to hold onto him as he lost consciousness. Karović's lawyer claimed his client suffered neck and shoulder injuries and that airline crew failed to assist him.
During Ryanair's annual general meeting in Dublin, O'Leary addressed the incident, stating, "He didn’t get out the window." He added, "We will be certainly at the end of the process disputing that he or any part of his anatomy will bend out the window," and confirmed the passenger was "belted into his seat."
While O'Leary acknowledged the traveler might be entitled to "some compensation," he indicated that the "millions" sought by the passenger's legal team were unjustified. He also mentioned that Ryanair awaits the outcome of an investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
In a separate controversial remark, O'Leary likened other airlines to "rapists" while discussing competitor pricing strategies. He stated, "You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair — but you know they’ll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA, and others desperate to get to Ryanair’s low fares because they can’t afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe."
When questioned about whether his comments trivialized rape, O'Leary reportedly retorted that this was how he referred to high-fare airlines like Lufthansa and British Airways.
