Norse Atlantic Airways flight to Los Angeles returned to London.
The Boeing 787-9 (reg. G-CKOF) took off from London Gatwick at 13:17 BST to North.
The aircraft climbed to 26,000 ft and entered a first holding pattern North of Cambridge before returning.
Pilots descended to 7,000 ft off the UK East coast probably to dump fuel in order to loose weight before landing.
The Dreamliner landed back at London Gatwick more than 2h30 after departure.
The aircraft is 5 years old. The usual flight time from London to Los Angeles is 11 hours.
Several airport emergency vehicles, including fire engines, reached the aircraft once it landed runway 26L and entered the taxiway.
The pilot informed the passenger that the plane has been hit by lightning. Turbulence and shaking proceeded.