Unusual route requested? Sounds like hijacking.
A reporter for CNN tweeted out that there was some thunderstorms and bad weather in the area, perhaps the pilot was trying to re-route out of that area because he saw it coming
Could be. The weather in the area was reported to be ok, maybe a chance of thunderstorms. A lot of bad things can happen quickly around thunderstorms.
It would be nice to know what was ‘unusual’ about the request.
It probably does not have enough fuel to go far.
TWB
“Unusual route requested” means, with almost 100 percent certainty, a weather avoidance route different from the filed flight plan. It’s not “unusual” for airliners to request maneuvering off course, or even to propose a different routing to air traffic control when there is weather to be avoided along their route.