New Delhi [India], February 24 (ANI): American Airlines has said that the “bomb threat on board”, due to which its flight AA 292 from New York to Delhi was diverted to Rome and made a dramatic landing on Sunday under fighter escort has been declared “non-credible”. However, it said that the Delhi Airport protocol, required the aircraft to be inspected elsewhere before being cleared to land.
“The possible issue was determined to be non-credible, but per DEL Airport protocol, an inspection was required before landing at DEL,” the statement by the airlines read.
The Airlines further said the flight will stay overnight at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport . “If asked, the flight will stay in FCO overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to DEL as soon as possible tomorrow,” the Airlines statement read.
The Delhi-bound American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner AA 292 non stop flight from New York to Delhi was forced to divert to Rome.
The flight with 199 passengers and 15 crew members, was grounded for nearly 15 hours.
The aircraft was just two hours from its destination when it made an abrupt U-turn over the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan due to a “possible security issue.”
In a statement, American Airlines said, “American Airlines flight 292, with service from New York (JFK) to Delhi (DEL), diverted to Rome (FCO) due to a possible security concern. The flight landed safely at FCO, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart. Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience.”
Images on social media showed the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner being tailed by two Italian Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes.
Italian Air Force fighter jets escorted the aircraft to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport, where it landed safely, the airport told ABC News.
“Safety and security are our top priorities and we thank our customers for their understanding,” the airline said in a statement.
A senior official briefed on the matter told ABC News a bomb threat was received by email but was deemed to be unfounded.
Indian authorities had insisted that the aircraft be checked before continuing on to New Delhi, the official said.
Passengers were taken to the terminal for screening, and the aircraft will undergo a thorough inspection.
The Italian Air Force said in a post on X “Scramble: in the afternoon two Eurofighters of Aeronautica Militare took off on alert to identify and escort a commercial aircraft headed to Delhi which had reversed course towards Fiumicino airport (RM) due to a report of a presumed explosive device on board”. (ANI)
