Edinburgh plane struck by lightning forced to land

A PASSENGER flight from Edinburgh to Alicante was forced to land at Glasgow Prestwick after being struck by lightning this evening.

A Ryanair flight bound for Alicante was forced to land in Glasgow Prestwick Airport after being struck by lightning. Picture: PA

The incident happened shortly after the Ryanair flight took off from Edinburgh at about 18:15.

Following standard procedures, it was diverted to the nearest available airport.

Engineers inspected the aircraft and it was able to take off for Alicante a short time later after being given the all-clear.

A Ryanair spokesman said: “We apologise to passengers affected by this short delay, however the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority.”