This afternoon two aircraft Euro Fighter of the Italian Air Force took off on alert from Grosseto, in technical jargon “scramble”, to identify and land an American Airlines plane, departing from New York and headed for Delhi, which had changed its route due to a report of a presumed explosive device on board.
The two Eurofighters reached the aircraft and escorted it safely, allowing it to land without further problems at Rome's Fiumicino airport at around 17:30 pm.
The order for immediate take-off was given shortly after 16pm by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Centre) in Torrejon, Spain, the NATO body responsible for the area, under the control of the 11th Air Group. Integrated Missile Air Defense (DAMI) of Poggio Renatico.
The Air Force ensures 24 hours a day, 24 days a year, without interruption, the surveillance of the National Airspace, through a complex air defense system integrated since peacetime with that of the other NATO countries.
