Heavy storm diverts flight

AN AER LINGUS jet was forced to divert to London’s Heathrow Airport on Tuesday after getting caught up in heavy thunderstorms, however the airline has denied that the jet was struck by lightning.

Flight EI-911, an Airbus A320 jet, spent over an hour in the skies over the south east of Britain before the crew finally diverted and landed at Heathrow just 40 kilometres from Gatwick where the flight had originated.

The control tower at Gatwick Airport was struck by lightning during the storms which swept across the area. However, Aer Lingus said flight 911 was not hit by lightning and diverted to Heathrow because of bad weather.