The incident happened last week in the Italian city of Brindisi as the plane was heading to Stansted airport.
Snow and ice can lead to the pilot losing control. Chemicals are usually sprayed on by specialized equipment.
Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority is sending inspectors to Brindisi.
One aviation safety expert said: “It looks a very haphazard way of dealing with a potentially very dangerous problem.”
“Ice buildup on a plane needs to be dealt with properly with specific techniques and equipment. A dribble of hot water might work on a frosted windscreen but we are talking about planes trying to take off.”
A British airline pilot who saw the video added: “Wow. That’s a little unconventional. I must have missed that lecture at flying school.
“I’m not sure if I would have been happy with a procedure like that. Ultimately it’s the captain’s decision so he must have been happy with it.”
Airport operators said they were satisfied with the procedure, as guidelines said “buckets of hot water at 60c are allowed when the air temperature is 0c”.
They added:” The Captain was aware and satisfied. The procedure was to remove a little residual snow. It was a perfectly safe procedure.”
Ryanair did not respond directly to requests for comment.
The incident came just days after Ryanair was ranked the worst airline in the world for the sixth year in a row.
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