An American Airlines flight carrying 199 passengers from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome following a bomb threat that was later determined to be non-credible.
Flight 292 landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue,” the airline said in a statement on Sunday.
The security concern was a bomb threat sent via email, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to NBC News.
The aircraft was escorted by Italian fighter jets before landing safely at the Rome airport.
The aircraft was escorted by Italian fighter jets before landing safely at the Rome airport
REUTERS
The flight requested its diversion to Rome at around 2pm local time, according to airport spokesman Roberto Rao.
“We immediately agreed and organised a safe landing,” Rao told NBC News.
The airport spokesman noted the situation appeared serious but not urgent.
“We don’t know what the security concern was, but my opinion is that it was serious enough to divert the plane, but not urgent, because we received the alert when the plane was over the Caspian Sea, a three hours’ flight from Rome.”
The aircraft touched down at Fiumicino Airport at approximately 5.30pm local time.
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Passenger Neeraj Chopra said the captain announced a change in “security status” about three hours before the scheduled landing in New Delhi.
Chopra described the mood as calm until passengers learned of the fighter jet escort. “I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” he told the Associated Press.
Jonathan Bacon, 22, reported that passengers underwent additional security screenings after being bused to the terminal.
“It was definitely the longest flight to Europe I’ve ever taken,” said Bacon, who was still waiting for his checked baggage more than two hours after landing.
American Airlines confirmed the aircraft was inspected and cleared to continue its journey to New Delhi
REUTERS
The security checks were time-consuming and felt “slightly heightened”, according to Bacon.
American Airlines confirmed the aircraft was inspected and cleared to continue its journey to New Delhi.
The airline said the plane would depart “as soon as possible” on Monday, after the crew had received adequate rest.
“Safety and security are our top priorities, and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement.