ROME — An American Airlines flight en route from New York to Delhi was forced to turn around and head to Rome's Fiumicino airport on Sunday while flying over the Caspian Sea.

A spokesperson for the Italian capital's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Francesco Garibaldi, did not give the reason for the change in flight plans.

Security checks would be performed as soon as the passengers and crew on board leave the plane, Garibaldi said.

In the meantime, media reports claimed the flight was diverted due to a bomb threat, landing in Rome at 5:22 pm CET after being escorted by two military fighter jets.

A total of 199 passengers plus crew were on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The airport, which was chosen to handle the emergency over other major airports along Flight AA292's route such as Istanbul and Dubai, continued to operate normally, the spokesperson said. — Euronews