An American Airlines flight going from New York to New Delhi, India has safely landed in Rome Sunday afternoon after being diverted off-course due to security concerns.
American Airlines said Flight AA292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and “cleared to re-depart.” The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying 199 passengers and 15 crew members, landed safely at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport under military escort.
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According to the flight status on American Airlines’ website, the flight departed from New York’s JFK Airport at 8.14 pm on Feb. 22 and landed in Rome around 5:30 pm local time.
While the airline did not clarify what the security concerns were, it claimed that an inspection was required by protocol before the flight could land in New Delhi. “The flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow,” the airline said.
Italian news agency ANSA reported that authorities had received an email warning of a possible bomb threat onboard Flight AA292. In response, Italian military officials immediately dispatched two Eurofighter Typhoon jets to intercept and escort the aircraft as it entered Italian airspace.
One of the passengers, Neeraj Chopra, told CNN that the captain announced that the plane had to turn around about three hours before it was supposed to land in New Delhi because of a change in “security status.” “I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” he said. “There’s got to be something bigger going on here.”
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“Safety and security are our top priorities, and we appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding while we worked with authorities to ensure a secure outcome,” American Airlines said in a statement.
Passengers were later re-boarded, and the aircraft resumed its scheduled route with clearance from authorities. The news follows a troubling pattern of plane crashes in recent weeks, raising concerns over a possible freak accident trend.