The Alitalia flight from Rome was struck by a lightning bolt at around 10.00am yesterday as it descended on Genoa airport in the north-west of Italy, Genova 24 news website said.
It was the second ill-fated flight of the week after a plane travelling from Ethiopia and bound for the Italian capital was hijacked on Monday and forced to land in Geneva.
Nobody was injured by the lightning bolt, and after a thorough inspection the plane was up in the air again at 5.30pm.
The stormy skies will do little to calm the fears of Italy’s air passengers, already shaken by the Ethiopian Airlines flight hijacking.
The flight from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa was diverted to Geneva after it was hijacked by the co-pilot, reportedly in a bid to seek asylum on European soil. After the plane was safely on the ground he was promptly arrested by Swiss authorities.
The passengers arrived in Switzerland unhurt, but said that there were “moments of intense fear” during the flight.
READ MORE: Hijacking: 'Passengers feared for their lives'
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