Rome, June 13 - American Airlines Flight AA780, on June 2, 2025, a transatlantic service from Philadelphia International Airport to Naples International Airport in Italy, encountered an unusual operational hiccup that left passengers stranded 145 miles from their intended destination. The flight, originally scheduled to depart Philadelphia at 7:42 p.m. local time and arrive in Naples at 10:00 a.m. the following morning, was operated using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, a larger variant of the aircraft typically assigned to this route. This seemingly minor equipment swap led to a significant disruption when the aircraft was denied landing clearance at Naples due to its size, forcing a diversion to Rome Fiumicino Airport.
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American Airlines typically operates this seasonal Philadelphia-Naples route with the smaller Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is compatible with Naples International Airport’s infrastructure. The 787-8, while similar in wingspan to its larger counterpart, is 20 feet shorter and requires a Category 8 Rescue and Firefighting Service (RFFS) per International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Naples Airport, classified as a Category 8 facility, can safely accommodate the 787-8 with certain payload limitations. However, the 787-9, which was deployed for Flight AA780 on this occasion, demands a Category 9 RFFS due to its increased length and higher maximum takeoff weight. This mismatch in aircraft and airport compatibility went unnoticed until the flight was approaching Naples, approximately 70 miles from its destination over the Tyrrhenian Sea, when air traffic control informed the crew that the 787-9 was not authorized to land.
The aircraft, carrying 231 passengers and 11 crew members, was redirected to Rome Fiumicino Airport, landing safely around 9:45 a.m. local time. Passengers, expecting to arrive in the heart of southern Italy’s Campania region, were instead faced with a logistical challenge. American Airlines arranged bus transportation to cover the roughly 145-mile journey from Rome to Naples, a trip that took over two hours. The airline issued an apology, citing “operational limitations” as the reason for the diversion and expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers. This incident underscores the complexities of international flight operations, where even minor changes in aircraft assignment can have significant repercussions.
Naples Airport’s single 8,622-foot runway, while sufficient for the 787-8, falls short of the operational requirements for the larger 787-9. To mitigate the disruption, American Airlines leveraged its existing Rome-Chicago route, which uses a 787-8. The diverted 787-9 was reassigned to operate Flight AA111 to Chicago O’Hare International Airport later that day, while a 787-8 was flown from Rome to Naples on June 3 to complete the original itinerary. However, crew duty hour restrictions prevented an immediate continuation, leaving passengers to navigate the unexpected road transfer. The oversight raises questions about the airline’s dispatch processes and the mechanisms in place to ensure aircraft compatibility with destination airports. While American Airlines quickly adapted to minimize further disruption, the incident highlights the need for rigorous pre-flight checks, particularly for routes serving airports with specific operational constraints. For passengers, the experience was a stark reminder of the fragile balance between fleet management and airport infrastructure in global aviation, turning a routine transatlantic journey into an unexpected detour.