A Eurowings Airbus A320 carrying 106 passengers and crew from Stuttgart to Vienna was struck by lightning shortly after takeoff on Thursday evening, prompting the aircraft to turn back for a precautionary technical inspection.
The plane had already reached cruising altitude when the bolt hit, a Eurowings spokeswoman said, adding that flight safety was never compromised. The jet landed safely at Stuttgart airport roughly 40 minutes after departure.
Passengers were rebooked onto other flights while technicians examined the aircraft. The A320 was expected to return to service later on Friday, the spokeswoman said. The Stuttgarter Nachrichten first reported the incident.