The American Airlines flight AA 292 bound from New York to Delhi, and diverted to Rome on Sunday due to suspected security concerns, was escorted by Italian Air Force fighter jets to the airport.
The flight had received a bomb threat alert which was later deemed to be ‘non-credible’.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner began its journey at JFK Airport on 22 February, Saturday, at 8:14 pm and was carrying 199 people. The aircraft was over the Caspian Sea when security concerns were flagged and it was diverted towards Europe.
While the threat was declared a hoax, the Delhi Airport protocol required the flight to be checked elsewhere before it landed in India. Subsequently, the flight landed safely at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome at 5:30 p.m. to be inspected.
The Italian Air Force took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to release the footage of American Airlines AA 292 being escorted to Rome. Along with the images, the air force wrote, “In the afternoon two #Eurofighters of the #AeronauticaMilitare took off on alarm to identify and escort an airliner bound for Delhi which had reversed course towards Fiumicino airport (RM) due to a report of an alleged explosive device on board.”
#Scramble: nel pomeriggio due #Eurofighter dell’#AeronauticaMilitare sono decollati su allarme per identificare e scortare un aereo di linea diretto a Delhi che aveva invertito rotta verso l’aeroporto di Fiumicino (RM) per una segnalazione di un presunto ordigno esplosivo a bordo pic.twitter.com/qocq43lC6H
— Aeronautica Militare (@ItalianAirForce) February 23, 2025
In a statement, American Airlines said that the aircraft “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and “cleared to re-depart.”
The Airline added, “The flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow.”
(Along with agency inputs)