An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome on Sunday afternoon following an “alleged bomb scare”, an Italian airport spokesman said.

The US-based carrier gave no details on the nature of what it called a “possible security concern” on the flight carrying 199 passengers plus crew that was escorted by two Italian fighter jets before landing.

“The flight landed safely at FCO (Rome) and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart,” American Airlines said in a statement.

Mahesh Kumar, an IT consultant aboard the flight, said the pilot announced the diversion to Rome due to “security reasons” about three hours before landing.

READ MORE: Over-fuelled Air New Zealand plane from Wellington leaves Otago University-bound passengers behind