Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
An American Airlines flight en route from New York to New Delhi turned around over the Caspian Sea on Sunday and landed in Rome, a spokesman from with Leonardo da Vinci Airport said. (AP video by Paolo Santalucia)
An electronic display at the New Delhi international airport shows that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reacts after learning at the New Delhi international airport that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reads an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport to learn that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
People read an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport showing that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
An American Airlines flight en route from New York to New Delhi turned around over the Caspian Sea on Sunday and landed in Rome, a spokesman from with Leonardo da Vinci Airport said. (AP video by Paolo Santalucia)
An electronic display at the New Delhi international airport shows that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
An electronic display at the New Delhi international airport shows that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reacts after learning at the New Delhi international airport that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reacts after learning at the New Delhi international airport that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reads an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport to learn that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
Tenzin Kunchok, right, an exiled Tibetan waiting for the arrival of a guest on the American Airlines flight AA292 from New York reads an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport to learn that the flight was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
People read an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport showing that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
People read an electronic display at the New Delhi international airport showing that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)
ROME (AP) \u2014 An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern , which later proved to be \u201cnon-credible,\u201d the airline said.
American Airlines said Flight 292 \u201cwas inspected by law enforcement\u201d after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and \u201ccleared to re-depart.\u201d
It didn\u2019t clarify the cause of the security concern, but added an inspection was required by protocol before the flight could land in New Delhi.
\u201cThe flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow,\u201d the airline said.
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports and American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi lands safely in Rome after security concerns.
An Associated Press reporter filmed two fighter jets flying over the airport shortly before the unscheduled landing. Fire trucks were visible on the landing strip on one side of the plane after it landed.
Neeraj Chopra, one of the passengers on board, said the captain announced that the plane had to turn around about three hours before it was supposed to land in New Delhi because of a change in \u201csecurity status.\u201d
Chopra, who was traveling from Detroit, Michigan 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.
\u201cI felt a little panic of, okay, what\u2019s going on here?\u201d Chopra told the AP. \u201cThere\u2019s got to be like something bigger going on here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Passenger Jonathan Bacon, 22, from Dayton, Ohio, started paying attention to the flight tracker on the seatback in front of him after the captain\u2019s announcement of a \u201cdiversion due to a security issue,\u201d observing the plane\u2019s sharp turn away from New Delhi and route back toward Rome.
Passengers had no Internet connection for much of the flight, Bacon said, with only some spotty access that clued them into early reports of the situation about two hours before landing.
After landing, Bacon said all passengers were loaded onto buses and taken to the terminal, where each passenger and their personal items underwent additional security screenings that were time-consuming and felt \u201cslightly heightened,\u201d especially for arrivals. More than two hours after landing, Bacon and his friend said they were still waiting for their checked baggage, which they said were also undergoing security screenings.
\u201cIt was definitely the longest flight to Europe I\u2019ve ever taken,\u201d Bacon said.
A spokesperson for the airport said it was continuing to operate normally. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n