A LIGHTNING strike damaged the centre runway at Mildura airport on Friday morning, causing unexpected flight delays and cancellations.
A mid-air Qantas flight bound for Mildura was forced to turn back to Sydney, as a bolt had ripped up the tarmac during an intense storm pattern prior to 10am.
Two outbound morning flights to Melbourne were delayed for several hours, as ground crews worked to cut out and seal the damage on the runway.
A 2pm Qantas flight to Melbourne and a 250pm Rex flight to Melbourne were eventually cancelled due to the backlog, as was a Rex flight due to arrive in Mildura at 2:30pm.
The storm did not affect the airport’s secondary runway, allowing medical flights and flight training to continue.
Mildura Airport chief executive Trevor Willcock said lightning strikes had damaged the tarmac at Mildura before, but not during his time with the company.
“It has happened before, but not in my four-and-a-half years, so no, not for a while,” he said.
