exclusive Ryanair passengers on flight that made emergency landing in Germany planning to sue airline

A group of passengers from a Ryanair flight which made an emergency landing in Germany two weeks ago are planning to collectively sue the airline for injuries sustained during the incident.

Flight FR7312 from Dublin to Croatia was forced to land at Frankfurt’s Hahn Airport after a loss in cabin pressure lead to a sharp descent on July 13.

Passengers on board were treated by a team of Red Cross paramedics at the German airport for ear pain, headaches and dizziness while a number of people were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Independent.ie now understands there are a number of passengers taking a collective suit against Ryanair claiming unnecessary bodily injury. 

It is understood Coleman Legal Partners along with another law firm in Dublin is consulting with up to 30 passengers who travelled on the flight. 

Some passengers have been offered a refund on the cost of their ticket following the incident as well as a future free airfare for any a future trips.

Dorica Osrecak, who was travelling home to Croatia from a holiday in Dublin, described a constant headache and sleepless nights as a result and now wants Ryanair to respond to her complaints.

“It was the worst ten minutes of my life,” she said describing the incident as a “nightmare”.

“I had a strong pain in my ears and very strong headache. I still have the headache which has been more than 10 days now.”

“I didn’t hear through my right ear for around three days after,” she added.

“The plane was going down and we didn’t know what was happening. After maybe seven to ten minutes the pilot said something happened with the plane and we need to land at the first airport.”

“Those ten minutes when the oxygen masks fell down and when we felt the airplane was going down - I felt like I was going to die.”

Ms Osrecak works as a hair stylist and has travelled to Dublin several times with Ryanair previously. She has sought treatment from her GP and says she has been advised there could be long term pain and psychological impact.

At the time, Ryanair said there was shortage of available accommodation for passengers in Frankfurt, where the plane landed, so a number of customers had to remain in the airport.

Under the internationally agreed Montreal Convention, airlines like Ryanair are “liable for damage sustained in the case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board”.

However, if the airline can prove that airline was not negligent or a third party outside the airline was the cause they could escape liability.

Independent.ie reached out for comment from Ryanair but a spokesperson said they would not be commenting on the matter.

“We are fully assisting the German authorities with their investigation and until this process has been completed we will not be making further comment.”