This is the terrifying moment lightning strikes a British Airways plane while it was parked in Brazil.

The Airbus A350 was preparing for departure from Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport to London Heathrow when a horrifying bolt struck the tail on Friday, January 24.

Dramatic footage shows the electrical discharge hitting the aircraft's vertical stabiliser while it was stationed at the passenger bridge.

Passenger Bernhard Warr, who captured the video while waiting to board: 'I was returning from Sao Paulo after a week of good weather. As we arrived at the airport, a storm moved in, grounding flights, including ours, for over an hour.

'I saw lightning striking near the airfield, so I started filming with our plane in the frame. I got lucky – the strike happened right in front of me.'

Following the incident, the aeroplane was inspected, delaying British Airways Flight BA246 by nearly six hours.

Engineers identified minor damage, which was subsequently addressed and repaired.

Officials confirmed that despite the delay, all passengers had safely continued their journey after completing thorough safety checks.

Flightradar24 reported that the aircraft departed at 11:07 pm, well beyond its scheduled 4:20 pm departure. Its original arrival time was 6:45 am, but it landed at 12:33 pm instead.

Authorities said planes like the Airbus A350 are designed to safely handle lightning strikes, using features like static dischargers to disperse the electrical charge.