8 hours on wrong aircraft: American Airlines flight to destination airport in Italy is very big, diverted to Rome
An American Airlines aircraft carrying passengers from Philadelphia to Naples, after understanding the pilots, was not certified to land at the Naples Airport after Boeing 787–9; It was very large for the airport. The incident occurred on 2 June, and the airlines stated that the turn for Rome was due to operational reasons. American Airlines flight AA780 left Philadelphia at 7:42 pm and crossed the Atlantic without any incident. It was to land in Naples at 10 am local time. But as the aircraft launched its descent in Naples (NAP), the crew replaced the syllabus and redirected the flight to Rome Fiyaminino Airport, about 124 miles from the destination. Passengers were bused from Rome to Naples which takes two hours. Historical flight data shows that American Airlines usually sends Boeing 787-8 on flights to Naples. While these two Dreamliner variants are very similar, with the same feathers, 787–9 is actually 20 feet long.Flight 780 had to change the course on the Tirenian Sea. 787-8 is quite small to land at an airport with a category 8 RFF, but 787-9 requires Category 9 RFFS Airport. Aviation enthusiasts @xjonnyc, who first shared the incident on X, reported that the airport authority said that 787-9 aircraft could not enter the Naples.The airline spokesman told Business Insider that the passengers were taken to Naples at Rome Fiysino Airport around 9:45 am. “We apologize to him for this disruption for his visit,” he said. 787–9, two-and-a-half hours later, departed from Chicago to Chicago from 111 to Flighatradar 24.
