Washington: Government officials say a Continental Airlines flight was diverted to Jacksonville, Florida, because the name of a passenger on board was an apparent match to a name on the terrorist watch list.
Law enforcement officials are looking into whether the passenger is a suspected terrorist listed on the government's no-fly list.
An airline is not supposed to issue a boarding pass to a person on the no-fly list. It was not immediately clear which airline was involved.
According to an internal government report, the flight originated in Newark, New Jersey, headed for Bogota, Colombia. It was diverted to Jacksonville International Airport.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the incident.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 30, 2010, 11:49