US flight diverted, no-fly passenger removed

WASHINGTON - An Alitalia flight from Milan to Boston was diverted to Bangor, Maine, and one passenger was removed because his name matched a name on the US no-fly list, US officials said.

A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said Alitalia flight 618 was diverted after US authorities found a match on the government's list.

The flight, which Alitalia said was carrying 127 passengers and 10 crew members, was met by federal officials and local police when it landed in Bangor.

The passenger and his bags were removed from the airplane. The plane was then checked and cleared to continue on to Boston, another TSA official said.

The passenger was being detained for questioning by customs and immigrations officials. Officials would not give the name of the passenger or why his name might be on the no-fly list.

Bob Jarvis, superintendent of operations at Bangor International Airport, said the airplane left Bangor to resume its flight to Boston around 2.15 p.m. (1815 GMT).

Airlines are supposed to check passengers against a no-fly list before they allow them to board the airplane. Once the flight is en route, the US Department of Homeland Security also checks the manifest against the no-fly list.

Most of the diversions requested by the United States have occurred because a passenger's name was found to match one on the list after the flight took off.

Another TSA official said the airplane was diverted out of an "abundance of caution" after the positive match was discovered.

An Air France flight was diverted last Thursday in a similar situation.

After the Air France plane landed in Bangor the man whose name had matched the government no-fly list was taken off the flight along with three family members.

They were released and allowed to continue their trip after being briefly detained and interviewed by US Customs and Border Protection agents.

- REUTERS