NEW DELHI: An American Airlines flight from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport to Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing in Rome on Sunday night following a mid-air bomb threat.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with over 280 passengers aboard, diverted its course over the Caspian Sea before heading westward toward Italy.
According to flight tracking data, Flight AA292 took off from New York at approximately 8:30 pm on Saturday for its scheduled 14-hour journey to the Indian capital. However, around 10 hours into the flight, the aircraft executed an abrupt turn near the Black Sea, reversing its path before heading toward Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.
Upon nearing Italian airspace, the plane was reportedly escorted by Italian fighter jets as a precautionary measure. It landed safely in Rome at around 5:30 p.m. local time.
While authorities have not disclosed the precise nature of the security alert, sources suggest that a bomb threat was received mid-flight, necessitating an immediate assessment by airline and security officials.
The decision to divert to Rome instead of a closer landing site was attributed to American Airlines’ established operational base in the Italian capital.