A study by Italy's agency for flight safety concluded that passengers who have used retractable airstairs face a significantly higher risk of falling during boarding and offloading operations.
Carrying built-in retractable airstairs allows aircraft to achieve faster passenger boarding and offloading. This capability provides operational advantages particularly at remote airport stands, where aircraft might otherwise need to wait for airport ground services to arrive before passenger handling can begin.
Although retractable airstairs are not unique to Ryanair's fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, the airline group is recognized as one of the largest operators employing this specific feature across its operational route network.
