American Airlines flight AA 292, travelling from New York to Delhi, was diverted on Sunday night due to a bomb threat and was escorted to Rome by two Italian military fighter jets.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was carrying 199 passengers and 15 crew members when it was flying over the Caspian Sea. At that moment, the aircraft was ordered to turn around and head towards Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome. Passengers were informed of a change in the aircraft’s security status, but no further details were provided at the time.

“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. So everyone was calm” Yash Raj, a passenger on the flight, told NBC News.

According to flight emergency tracking services and airport sources, the diversion was due to a bomb threat. A senior official, who was briefed on the matter, told ABC News that the threat was received via email and was later deemed to be unfounded.

However, as per Indira Gandhi International Airport’s security protocol, the plane was still required to undergo an inspection before continuing its journey. Given its location at the time, a nearby airport had to be identified to conduct this procedure. Flight AA 292 requested permission to land at Rome’s airport, which granted the request, and the aircraft was subsequently escorted by two Italian Air Force fighter jets. The plane landed safely at 5:30 pm local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“We immediately agreed and organised a safe landing,” Roberto Rao, spokesperson for Rome’s airport, 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.”

Once the aircraft had landed, passengers were asked to disembark and were transported to the terminal by bus. Each passenger and their hand luggage underwent additional screening, along with a thorough inspection of the aircraft and checked baggage. Meanwhile, airport operations continued as normal.

“Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement. “The flight will stay in Rome overnight to allow for required crew rest before continuing to Delhi as soon as possible tomorrow.” 

At the time of writing, authorities had found no credible threat on board the aircraft, and American Airlines was working to resume the flight at the earliest opportunity.