American Airlines flight diverted to Rome for ‘security reasons’

An American Airlines flight traveling from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome Sunday due to a bomb threat, according to a source familiar with the situation.

In a statement, American Airlines said Flight AA292 was traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport before it diverted to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue,” adding later that it “was determined to be non-credible.” Per Indira Gandhi International Airport’s protocol, an inspection was required before the plane landed there.

The bomb threat made against the flight was sent via email, according to the source familiar with the situation. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported the security issue.

“Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement.

Flight AA292 requested a flight diversion to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at around 2 p.m. local time, said Roberto Rao, a spokesperson for the airport.

“We immediately agreed and organized a safe landing,” Rao told NBC News. “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 American Airlines plane was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets when it arrived in Italian airspace, according to Rao, and landed in Rome at around 5:30 p.m. local time, per the Federal Aviation Administration.

American Airlines said the plane was met by local law enforcement upon its arrival to Rome, inspected and cleared to depart again for New Delhi “as soon as possible tomorrow” after the crew gets some rest.

There were 199 passengers on board the flight, The Associated Press reported. Many of the flight’s passengers “were not able to enter Italy due to visa issues” and were accommodated on other airlines, the airline said.

“American continues to try to get them to New Dehli as soon as possible,” the airline said.

One of the passengers on the flight, Yash Raj, said they were told by the crew that there was a security situation and a diversion was necessary.

“But we were never told that there is some threat on the aircraft, the only thing that was mentioned was the security situation, and cabin crew handled the situation very well,” Raj said. “So everyone was calm.”

One of the jets that escorted the flight to Rome could be seen in a video shot by Raj at around 5 p.m. local time and posted on X.

Activity at the Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport was not disrupted as a result of the diversion, per Rao.