Ryanair 737 MAX makes emergency landing in Cyprus

An Israel-bound Ryanair flight made an emergency landing in Paphos Cyprus this morning (February 27).

The Boeing 737 MAX 8200, 9H-VVG (c/n 62343), was operating FR57 between Paris/Beauvais and Eilat/Ramon.

The brand-new narrowbody – which was delivered to the Irish airline giant’s Malta Air subsidiary last month – left the French capital at 7.18am local time. After around three hours in the air, as the jet passed to the south of Cyprus at 37,000ft, it squawked 7700 and made a left turn towards the island.

**The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 (not pictured) registered to Ryanair's Maltese subsidiary Malta Air.** Aviation Image Network/Noah Gregory

A rapid descent was then initiated, with the twinjet losing 30,000ft of altitude over the course of the next 12 minutes.

The aircraft landed safely at Paphos International Airport at 12.26pm local time.

In a statement to Key.Aero, a Ryanair spokesperson said: “This flight from Paris to Eilat (27 Feb) diverted to Paphos when a passenger became ill onboard. The passenger was treated by medics at Paphos Airport and was cleared to re-join the flight which continued safely for Eilat at 13:40 local, following a 70 min delay.”

**A flight tracking recording showing FR57’s diversion into Phaphos, Cyrprus this morning.** Flightradar24

9H-VVG first flew on December 8, 2022, and was delivered to Malta Air on January 4 this year. Powered by two CFM International LEAP-1B turbofans, the aircraft is configured to seat 197 passengers in a single-class layout.

Founded in 2019, Malta Air is a joint venture between the Government of Malta and Ryanair. Its fleet comprises 158 Boeing 737s, including 125 -800s transferred from the Irish low-cost carrier, and 33 new MAX 8200s.