According to sources familiar with the situation, the American Airlines flight travelling from New York to New Delhi was repurposed on Rome Sunday due to the threat of a bomb.
In a statement, American Airlines said Flight AA292 had been moved from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport. Each protocol at Indira Gandhi International Airport required inspections before the plane landed there.
Sources familiar with the situation said the bomb threat that took place against the flight was sent via email. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported security issues.
“Safety and security are our number one priority and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause,” the airline said in a statement.
Airport spokesman Roberto Rao requested that the AA292 flight be repurposed to the Leonardo Davintifiumino airport in Rome around 2pm local time.
“We quickly agreed and organized a safe landing,” Rao told NBC News. “We don’t know what the security concerns are, but in my opinion, it’s not urgent as we got an alert when the plane was on the Caspian Sea. Rome.”
The American Airlines plane was escorted by two Italian Air Force fighters when it arrived in Italian airspace, according to Rao, and landed in Rome around 5:30pm local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
American Airlines said it encountered local law enforcement when the plane arrived in Rome, and after a short break from the crew, it was exempt from leaving again for New Delhi “as soon as possible tomorrow.”
According to the Associated Press, 199 passengers reported being on the plane.
Yash Raj, one of the passengers on the flight, said the crew had told them that there was security and that it was necessary to divert it.
“But we were never told there was a threat to the aircraft. It was the security situation that was mentioned, and the cabin crew handled the situation very well,” Raj said. . “That’s why everyone was calm.”
One of the jets that escorted the flight to Rome was filmed by Raj around 5pm local time and was seen in a video posted to X.
Activities at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino airport were not destroyed as a result of a detour.
