Ryanair flight from London Stansted damages wing after crashing into barrier at Greek airport during taxiing

Flight FR6080 landed safely at Kalamata International Airport on Wednesday morning, 18 June, before striking a red-and-white barrier during taxiing. The Boeing 737 had experienced “severe turbulence” during its descent, and passengers onboard described hearing a “loud banging sound” moments after landing, the Sun reported.

A source told the outlet: “There was severe turbulence during the flight, but it managed to land on the runway at Kalamata International. The crew said it was going to be a bumpy landing. But while it was taxiing down the runway towards the red and white barrier at the end, the plane turned and everyone heard this loud banging sound. You could feel the impact.”

Photos obtained by the outlet show the aircraft’s wing badly torn by the force of the collision.

Despite visible damage to the wing, passengers were instructed to remain onboard while emergency services arrived. “Everyone was scared – it was the fact they said wait on the plane even though there was clearly a risk of fire,” the source said. “With the wing damaged the way it was, why wouldn’t you evacuate the plane first?”

The source also raised concerns about flight safety measures earlier in the journey: “There was already talk about how weird it was that there was no signal for seatbelts while there was turbulence on the way down.”

Ryanair confirmed the incident in a statement: “This flight from London Stansted to Kalamata (18 June) was taxiing to stand when the wing tip came in contact with a fence at Kalamata Airport. The aircraft subsequently continued to stand, and passengers disembarked normally.”

The airline said the aircraft underwent the required inspections and maintenance before being cleared to return to service.