The pilots of a plane with a hole punched into its nose by lightning have managed to continue on their 6000km journey from Iceland to the US after reassuring passengers there was nothing to worry about.

Icelandair Flight 671 from Reykjavik to Denver was struck by lightning shortly after take-off on Wednesday, The Denver Post reports.

Denver musician Nathan Maxwell who was returning home after a month-long tour with his band the Bunny Gang said he heard a "really loud" bang and saw a flash of bright light.

"It was pretty scary," he said.

Photos of the Boeing 757 shows a large hole in the aircraft's protective skin only metres below cockpit's large windshield.

"At some point pretty soon after we left, we got hit," Mr Maxwell said.

"I thought we'd probably have to go for an emergency landing or turn around, detour or something."

Instead the plane's pilot confirmed over the intercom that the aircraft had indeed been hit by lightning but it would continue on its course to the US nonetheless.

Icelandicair spokesman Michael Raucheisen said the pilots followed standard procedure and checked all the plane's systems before making the decision to push on.

"If there were issues with the safety or flight worthiness of the aircraft there would have been a system notification or the pilots would have noticed the handling of the aircraft change. Neither of these were the case," he said.

"After the strike there was no signal that the plane was unstable or unsuitable for flight."

Mr Maxwell said he was not overly concerned but added that many other passengers appeared to be.

"I think the entire plane may have had drinks," he said.