American Airlines New York-Delhi flight makes unscheduled landing in Rome. Here's what happened

An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome on Sunday afternoon following "a possible security concern," the airline confirmed in a statement.

Safe landing in Rome

American Airlines flight 292, with service from New York to Delhi, diverted to Rome due to a possible security concern," the airline said. "The flight landed safely at FCO, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart."

Bomb scare reported

While the airline did not provide details on the nature of the security incident, an Italian airport spokesperson stated the diversion was due to an "alleged bomb scare."

Passengers and crew safety

The Boeing aircraft, carrying 199 passengers plus crew, landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 5:22 pm (1622 GMT) without further incident. All passengers disembarked and were provided assistance at the airport, with operations remaining unaffected.

FAA and military escort

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the plane had landed safely "after the crew reported a security issue." The flight was also escorted by two military fighter planes, according to the Italian airport spokesperson.

Indian protocol requirements

An airline official explained that the aircraft was diverted due to Indian security protocols. "The possible issue was determined to be non-credible, but per DEL Airport protocol, an inspection was required before landing at DEL," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Flight delay and crew rest

The American Airlines flight is expected to remain in Rome overnight to allow for the required crew rest before resuming its journey to New Delhi the following day.

American airlines passengers share account

One of the passengers on board, Neeraj Chopra, said the captain announced that the plane's course was changed after pilot's announcement on emergency landing due to change in “security status”

Chopra, who was traveling from Detroit to visit family, described the mood on the plane as calm after the initial announcement but said he began to feel stressed when the captain later announced that fighter jets would be escorting their plane to Rome.

“I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” Chopra told the AP. “There’s got to be like something bigger going on here.”

“It was definitely the longest flight to Europe I’ve ever taken,” said Jonathan Bacon, 22, from Dayton, Ohio.

(With AFP inputs)