The aeroplane was rocked by storms ten minutes into the journey

The Airbus A320 had just left Newcastle Airport bound for Portugal on Sunday when it was hit by heavy storms.

Flight MYT897 was left with two pinhead-sized holes to its fuselage, forcing the plane to return to its departure airport.

A spokeswoman for MyTravel said the 180 passengers on the flight to Faro would have felt a jolt and seen a flash as it was struck.

The aeroplane was turned around as a precautionary measure and was back in service on Monday after being checked over by engineers.

Holiday compensation

A spokeswoman for Newcastle Airport said: "The aircraft was struck by lightning so it requested permission to come back and land at Newcastle.

"It made a precautionary landing and landed safely. Emergency services were on standby as they always are in these cases.

"The passengers were taken to a hotel overnight and flew this morning. As I understand it the passengers were all fine."

The spokeswoman for MyTravel said the plane had been hit by "outrageous" weather conditions but it was equipped with special technology to cope with lightning.

Holidaymakers heading for the sun on package deals eventually arrived in Portugal on Monday after MyTravel drafted in another aircraft.

Any passengers who had lost part of their holiday would be compensated, the spokeswoman added.