No landing because they got the wrong plane. Bizarre situation in Italy

This is a rather rare and bizarre situation that occurred in Italy. Tourists flying to this country from the United States were supposed to land in Naples, but were dropped off in Rome. This is an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia, operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

No way of landing in Naples

Until almost the last moment, the passengers of the flight were not aware that something would go wrong. It seemed that even the crew did not expect such a turn of events. Just before approaching for landing in Naples, they heard an announcement that their plane did not have the appropriate certification to land at that airport. Immediate action was necessary.

There were 285 people on board. Instead of reaching their destination, all of them circled the airport for a long time. Then the pilot decided to divert the plane to Rome. Ultimately, the passengers had to take a two-hour bus ride, covering a distance of 233 kilometers from the Italian capital, to reach their original destination.

“We apologize for this travel disruption,” an American Airlines spokesman said, calling the situation an operational constraint.

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Surprising Airplane Problem

What exactly was the problem? American Airlines has been flying to Naples since 2024. It is a seasonal summer connection that has operated flawlessly up until now. It turns out that before this trip, they exceptionally swapped the Boeing 787-8 used on this route for another replacement 787-9. No one took into account that the latter would not meet the requirements.

The lack of permission to land did not come out of nowhere. The runway in Naples is so short that it would be dangerous to use an aircraft that was too long there, and the Boeing 787-9 was just that – it differs from its predecessor in that its fuselage is 3 meters longer. The other parameters were the same – the wingspan is 60 meters and the height is 17 meters. It was these similarities that were supposed to have caused the mistake when choosing the aircraft for the trip.

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