Mechanical Issues Force American Airlines Rome to Charlotte Flight to Land in Spain
Soon after flying out over the Atlantic Ocean from Europe on Friday morning, an American Airlines plane bound for Charlotte turned around due to possible mechanical problems, the airline confirmed to The Charlotte Observer.
The flight, American Airlines 721, was heading to Charlotte Douglas International Airport from Rome.
The flight was diverted to Madrid, Spain, and landed at 3:17 p.m. CEST (9:17 a.m. EST), according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
The flight landed at Madrid after 5 hours and 24 minutes of travel time, according to FlightAware.
“The aircraft landed safely and without incident, and our maintenance team is currently evaluating,” American Airlines spokesman Curtis Blessing told the Observer in a statement. “Our team is working to get our customers on their way as quickly as possible.”
The Friday flight includes 266 passengers and 12 crew members.
American Airlines did not share additional details on the nature of the possible mechanical issue.
Busy summer season at CLT
Late last year, American announced it would be resuming seasonal flights between Rome and CLT, with daily flights from May 5 through Oct. 28.
The airport is prepping for big crowds and long lines during the busy summer travel season this year.
American Airlines, the airport’s dominant air carrier, now operates up to 600 departures a day out of CLT at peak times, according to an airport statement in late May. Over the summer, that number is expected to peak at up to 655 departures in June and up to 659 in July.
Charlotte’s airport saw a dramatic drop in passengers in early 2020 as the coronavirus hit North Carolina. But officials have predicted that passenger travel will make a full recovery by next year.
And Charlotte Douglas was ranked the fifth busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures, according to according to Airports Council International 2021 preliminary rankings.
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