The budget carrier Ryanair has been ordered to pay a passenger over $30,000 (Over Rs 24 lakh) for an injury she sustained after falling from an aircraft in 2020. The ruling comes from a Spanish court that made the decision in favour of the passenger who sustained an injury while disembarking from an aircraft, as per Simple Flying’s report. The incident occurred in Alicante, a city in Spain. As per the court’s order, the airline is supposed to cover the medical and other associated expenses for the passenger.

At the time of the incident, the passenger arrived at the airport in Alicante to visit her daughter and her newborn grandson. On February 7th, 2020, a plane arrived at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) from the Andalusian capital of Seville, reports Simple Flying. She sustained significant injuries when she fell and rolled from the second step to the bottom of the ladder as she attempted to exit the plane.

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She received rapid medical attention at the airport and was then brought to the medical facility there. She was first sent to the Hospital, then to another hospital after it became clear that the clinic couldn’t handle her injuries. She underwent two operations during her treatment for her tibia and fibula fractures, and she was there for three days.  

The Ryanair passenger reportedly tried multiple ways to reclaim the expenses but failed. After which she took legal action against the airline.

The ICAO’s Montreal Convention on May 28, 1999, which led to the court case that followed, established the carrier’s responsibility for passengers’ physical harm. According to the article, the airline is in charge if the incident occurs while the claimant is getting off the plane.

Simple Flying quotes the court’s statement, “The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.”