Lightning hit ten Finnair planes in mid-air on Wednesday night, forcing some of the aircrafts to return to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. The unusual event is causing flight delays and cancellations on Thursday.
The national carrier says maintenance inspections have been performed on all affected aircrafts. Some of the planes sustained minor damage from the flashes.
Finnair spokesperson Inka Ikonen told YLE News that passengers onboard planes struck by lightning were never in danger.
"What made this unusual was that there was a lot of lightning, which is exceptional for this time of year. When lightning strikes a plane, there's a very bright light, and obviously you can sense some movement in the plane. You may get scared, but there's no danger."
A charter flight to the Greek vacation resort Chania was forced to return to the airport after being hit by a lightning bolt. The plane was, however, able to take off again on Thursday morning. On the domestic front, air controllers ordered Finnair flights to Oulu, Vaasa and Joensuu to turn back to Helsinki-Vantaa ten minutes after departure late on Wednesday.
Finnair cancelled all flights due to depart from Helsinki-Vantaa airport to Hamburg and Geneva on Thursday morning.
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