American Airlines Diverts Flight After Significant Mistake

American Airlines appeared to make a pretty significant mistake this week when the plane it sent on an international flight from Philadelphia to Naples, Italy, was too big to land at the airport and had to be diverted.

American Airlines flight 780 departed Philadelphia at 7:42 p.m. and was slated to land in Naples, Italy, at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday after the transatlantic flight. However, that's not what happened.

When the flight was about 70 miles away from Naples International Airport, the plane was suddenly diverted north to Rome Fiumicino Airport. The reason for the diversion, as an article from Business Insider explained, was that American Airlines flew a slightly different version of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was slightly too big to land in Naples.

As Business Insider explained, American Airlines typically flies a 787-8 to Naples, which is small enough to land at an airport with a Category 8 RFFS. However, this time, American flew a 787-9, which is about 20 feet longer than the 787-8 and needs a Category 9 RFFS airport.

Naples International Airport is Category 8 RFFS, meaning the 787-9 was unable to land at the airport.

An aviation enthusiast, who goes by the handle of @JonNYC was the first to report the incident, and he confirmed that 787-9 does not have approval by the airport to land.

American Airlines issued a statement on the incident to Business Insider, confirming that the plane was diverted to Rome “due to operational limitations.”

After landing at Rome Fiumicino Airport around 9:45 a.m., passengers were then transported to Naples by bus, a spokesperson for the airline told Business Insider.

"We apologize to them for this disruption to their journey," the airline said in a statement.

Needless to say, it seems like the airline made a pretty signicifant mistake.

American Airlines Diverts Flight After Significant Mistake first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 8, 2025