Ryanair flight in Stockholm evacuated after cabin fills with smoke — forcing 200 to flee in chaotic scene

Nearly 200 passengers were forced to evacuate from a Buzz Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport early Sunday after the cabin filled up with smoke when the pilots fired up the engines while preparing for takeoff.

Buzz is a Poland-based partner of Irish discount air carrier Ryanair, which operated the evacuated flight that was preparing to depart for Krakow when the emergency began.

A video montage of the incident posted on X shows the chaotic scene unfolding as passengers hastily exit the aircraft via inflatable emergency slides deployed at the plane’s doors.

A number of emergency vehicles surrounded the plane on the snowy tarmac as first responders and airport employees helped passengers evacuate, but no injuries were reported in the incident.

In another segment of the video, the cabin appears smoky as its 189 panicked passengers grab for their belongings and queue up to flee the aircraft.

As the cabin slowly filled with smoke, passengers reportedly had to loudly urge members of the flight crew to open the cabin doors and allow them to exit.

According to AirLive, one passenger described the incident as “highly traumatic.”

In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson said Buzz engineers were inspecting the aircraft and that a replacement plane had been routed to Arlanda to get passengers to their original destination.

“A Buzz aircraft this morning (10 Dec) in Arlanda reported fumes in the cabin. As a precaution, passengers were evacuated and returned to the terminal,” the statement read in part.

“We apologise sincerely to affected passengers for this delay which we are doing everything to minimise,” the spokesperson said.

“Refreshment vouchers have been issued to passengers in Arlanda.”

Ryanair has courted controversy in the past and has been an occasional fixture in news headlines for unusual incidents onboard its planes.

In July, passengers on a Ryanair flight to Italy were left stranded on the tarmac with no air conditioning in over 100-degree heat when their flight was delayed more than 10 hours, leading some to pass out.

Then in September Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary was pelted with pies by environmental protesters in Brussels.