Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary on Tuesday called on Boeing to "significantly improve" quality control of its aircraft after a panel blew out mid-flight on one of its planes.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the boss of the Irish no-frills airline demanded to a lesser extent improvements also at European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

On Friday, Alaska Flight 1282 departed from Portland International Airport and was gaining altitude when the cabin crew reported a "pressurization issue", according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Boeing 737 MAX 9 quickly returned to the US hub, while the aircraft model has been grounded for inspections.

"I think that both Airbus and Boeing, certainly Boeing, need to significantly improve quality control," O'Leary told the Financial Times.

"The real challenge for both Airbus and Boeing is they are both running behind on their plans to increase monthly production. A lot of that is supply chain pressures," he added.

Ryanair has no MAX 9 aircraft in service or on order, it confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

"The issue which affected the Alaska aircraft does not apply to the MAX 8 aircraft, which Ryanair operates or the MAX 10s which Ryanair have on order," it said in a statement. 

Ryanair added that it did "not expect the MAX 9 grounding to have any impact on either the MAX 8 or the MAX 10 aircraft".