On Sunday, 22 December, a TUI Airlines Netherlands Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (registered PH-TFJ), operating flight TB3011 for TUI fly Belgium, departed Brussels Airport for Hurghada in Egypt. However, a lightning strike shortly after takeoff forced the pilots to return to Belgium’s biggest airport.
“A sudden bang with a flash, then a light burning smell was noticed in the cabin,” one passenger recalls. “Passengers were never in danger, but as a precautionary measure, the aircraft has to return to Brussels,” TUI spokesperson Piet Demeyere explained.
First, the airline expected the aircraft to depart again today, but maintenance and flight duty time restrictions hampered operations: “Passengers were given vouchers. As soon as we realised that the flight wouldn’t go forward, we arranged hotel accommodations for our passengers,” Demeyere added.
