An aircraft panel assembly 10 is provided, including a panel core 28, a plurality of pre-preg layers 30 surrounding the panel core 28 forming an internal layer of plies 34, at least one metal foil layer 38 positioned on an outer layer 40 of the internal layer of plies 34. The at least one metal foil layer 38 providing an electrical conduit between the outer surface 24 of the aircraft panel assembly 10 and a sub-structure 26 for grounding.