A SriLankan Airlines flight bound for Sydney, Australia, was forced to return to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) shortly after takeoff early today (12) after the aircraft was reportedly struck by lightning, according to an airport duty officer.
SriLankan Airlines flight UL-606 departed Katunayake Airport for Sydney at approximately 1:00 a.m.
The aircraft, a wide-body Airbus A330, was carrying 217 passengers and 16 crew members at the time of the incident.
Due to adverse weather conditions accompanied by lightning in the area, the aircraft was reportedly struck by lightning during the flight.
As a precautionary measure, the pilot decided to abort the journey and safely landed the aircraft back at Bandaranaike International Airport at around 1:40 a.m, said Ada Derana reporter.
The Airport Duty Officer stated that SriLankan Airlines later arranged another Airbus A330 aircraft of the same type to transport the passengers to Sydney. The replacement flight departed Katunayake Airport at approximately 6:06 a.m. today.
Meanwhile, the aircraft affected by the lightning strike has been moved to the SriLankan Airlines hangar at Katunayake Airport for inspection and repairs.
