A study by Italy's National Agency for Flight Safety (ANSV) has highlighted a significant number of passenger falls associated with the retractable stairs on Ryanair's Boeing 737 aircraft. The research, published in August, found that since 2021, there have been 489 incidents of falls from boarding stairs. Approximately 73% of these, totaling 360 falls, occurred on the aircraft's own airstairs.
According to the study, falls from these onboard airstairs were roughly three times more frequent than those occurring from stairs provided by airport operators. The Ryanair airstairs are described as having 12 steps, measuring about 61 cm in height, 20 cm in depth, and 25 cm in width. They are inclined at an angle of approximately 35 degrees and are electrically operated.
"Compared to those typically used by airport operators, [it] is narrower, steeper and has a first step that differs from the others," the study noted. The dimensions were found to be "at the limits in terms of step height and slope," making them less comfortable than airport stairs, which generally feature lower steps, a less steep slope, and a wider landing and tread.
The investigation attributed the cause of the falls to "human factors relating to the passengers," citing instances where passengers may not pay adequate attention, fail to hold the handrail, or are not in optimal physical or mental condition during disembarkation.
To address the issue, the study recommends that Ryanair take action to mitigate the risk. It suggests that cabin crew should exercise greater control over passengers using the aircraft's airstair during boarding and disembarkation. Specifically, crew should remind passengers to keep one hand free to hold onto the handrail.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment regarding the study's findings and recommendations.