San Francisco (Agencies): A United Airlines flight bound for Shanghai had to turn around mid-journey after one of the pilots realized he had forgotten his passport. The incident, described by passengers as “quite embarrassing,” delayed the journey by several hours and required a new crew to step in.
Flight UA 198 departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday, March 22, carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew members. However, roughly two hours into the journey over the Pacific Ocean, the Boeing 787 was rerouted to San Francisco after the oversight came to light. The flight landed back in San Francisco at around 5 p.m. local time.
United Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement, saying, “The pilot did not have their passport onboard. We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”
The flight resumed its journey around 9 p.m. with the replacement crew and arrived in Shanghai approximately six hours behind schedule.
The unusual incident raises eyebrows about procedural lapses but also underscores the importance of meticulous pre-flight preparations for international travel.
A series of plane crashes involving US carriers in recent months has raised security concerns.
Just last week, an Orthodox Jewish passenger filed a lawsuit against the airline, alleging a United pilot forcibly removed him from a lavatory while he was experiencing constipation, exposing his genitalia to others during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston.
Meanwhile, a New Jersey mother blasted United for asking her to remove her “medically complex” son’s breathing tube ahead of the plane’s takeoff. Her TikTok video about the incident has garnered more than 1.3 million views.