Ryanair’s Boeing 737 Stairs Mishaps Prompt Action From Safety Bureaus

LYON—After a series of passenger incidents involving the Boeing 737’s integrated airstairs, the Italian air accident investigation branch (ANSV) has conducted a safety study and is supporting recommendations from its Irish and Spanish counterparts.

Boeing offers integrated, retractable airstairs as an option on the 737NG and 737 MAX, and Ryanair is one of the rare operators to have and use them. While the equipment gives an operator more autonomy and may reduce costs, the design of the aircraft’s stairs makes them trickier to use than the conventional stairs or bridges rented from an airport. The study follows a report ANSV released in April.

The ANSV measured events of falls during passenger boarding and disembarkation in Italy over three years, from 2023-25. Of the 104 events, 85 (or approximately 82%) involved falls from the airstairs of the 737. “The operator involved is Ryanair, which ... uses the airstairs for disembarkation from the aircraft front (for disembarkation from the rear of the aircraft, the external staircase is provided by the airport operators),” the ANSV noted.

To avoid statistical biases, the bureau took into account the high proportion of travelers flying Ryanair in Italy and falls from airport-supplied stairs. The rates are significantly higher with Ryanair. “The study identifies an issue with the airstairs of the 737 in relation to flights operated by Ryanair,” ANSV said. “Identifying a higher frequency in a specific context (type of stairs and disembarkation procedures) suggests that organizational or operational aspects may mitigate exposure to risk.”

The airstairs consist of 12 steps, approximately 61 cm (24 in.) wide, 20 cm high and with a tread depth of approximately 25 cm. With an angle of 35 deg., it is steeper than airport-supplied stairs. It is narrower, as standard width is considered to be 100 cm at a minimum, ANSV said. Moreover, it has a first step that differs from the others: it is approximately 19 cm high and trapezoidal in shape.

Following an incident in 2021, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) published a recommendation in 2023. “It is recommended that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) undertakes a safety promotion campaign to highlight to passengers and crew, the behaviors which will minimize their personal risk of falling whilst embarking or disembarking an aircraft,” it said.

After an accident in 2024, the Spanish civil aviation safety investigation authority (CIAIAC) issued more stringent recommendations in 2025. It urged Ryanair to only use certified airport equipment for passenger boarding and disembarkation. Nevertheless, CIAIAC also recommended a redesign to decrease the stairs’ slope, reduce the height of the riser and increase the tread’s depth, adding Boeing and Ryanair should implement additional mitigation measures to minimize the risk of a fall. EASA should review the use of the airstairs, CIAIAC added.

ANSV endorsed CIAIAC’s and AAIU’s recommendations, without adding any. It noted Ryanair’s updated disembarkation procedure, which requests the cabin crew to provide the passengers with the announcement in the language of departure and arrival countries. The announcement, although it applies to all stairs or bridges, includes the recommendation to use the handrail. Ryanair has a new training module dedicated to disembarkation, the ANSV added.