United Airlines flight diverted after a pilot forgot his passport, lands 6 hours late

United Airlines pilot sounded frustrated when he announced that he forgot his passport

A United Airlines flight departing from Los Angeles was reportedly forced to divert to San Francisco after one of its pilots forgot to bring his passport.

It resulted in six hours’ delay to the Shanghai-bound flight and another delay to the return flight.

Source: Flickr, for illustrative purposes only.

United Airlines plane makes U-turn over Pacific Ocean

Flight UA198 departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 2pm local time last Saturday (22 March), carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew, reported CNN.

The plane headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean, but almost two hours into the flight, made an unexpected U-turn and returned to the United States (US).

According to FlightAware, it was diverted to San Francisco, landing at about 5pm local time.

Source: FlightAware

Pilot forgot his passport, United Airlines confirms

Chinese passenger Yang Shuhan told CNN that the pilot made an announcement over the intercom in a “very frustrated voice”.

He said he had forgotten his passport. She appreciated his honesty, she said.

A inflight screen showing the plane diverting to San Francisco. Source: CNN

In a statement quoted by CNN, United confirmed that “the pilot did not have their passport onboard”.

The airline arranged for a new crew for the flight, with passengers provided with meal vouchers and compensation, it added.

Flight arrived in Shanghai 6 hours behind schedule

Ms Yang said she received two meal vouchers worth US$30 (S$40), which she used to buy food from a Japanese restaurant at the airport.

She also filed a compensation claim on United’s website and was told she should receive a response within 14 business days.

Many other Chinese passengers vented their frustrations on Chinese social media platform RedNote, saying they were “outraged” and “speechless”.

The flight eventually departed with a new crew at 9pm and reached Shanghai about six hours behind its original schedule.

Passengers on return flight also affected

The disruption also affected passengers on the return flight, UA199, from Shanghai back to Los Angeles.

A business traveller from Shanghai, who declined to be named, expressed frustration to CNN after their flight was delayed by about six hours.

The delay forced them to reschedule all their Monday commitments, which was “really inconvenient”.

Passengers on UA199 arrived in LAX late on Sunday (23 March) night.

United Airlines pilot showed ‘lack of discipline’ in forgetting passport: Analyst

Mr Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based Endau Analytics, an aviation advisory firm, told CNN that the incident was “quite embarrassing” for United Airlines.

Source: Endau Analytics

He criticised the airline for allowing such a mistake to occur, saying it is “unacceptable” for a global carrier and a sign of “a lack of discipline”.

Mr Yusof pointed out that the blunder could lead to significant financial repercussions for United, including the costs of fuel dumping and passenger compensation.

Case is one of a slew of recent United flight incidents

Recent safety concerns following plane crashes involving US Airlines had already raised concern, but Mr Yusof said the latest United incident appeared to be “more of a protocol issue”.

In another recent incident, an Orthodox Jewish traveller sued United, alleging that a pilot forcibly removed him from the toilet on a flight from Mexico to Houston while he was suffering from constipation.

The act exposed his genitals to passengers, he claimed.

A woman from New Jersey also criticised United for allegedly insisting that she remove her “medically complex” son’s breathing tube before takeoff.

She posted a TikTok video about the incident, which has since received more than 1.7 million views.

Also read: Scandinavian Airlines flight diverted after live mouse jumps out of meal box, passenger recounts ordeal

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Featured image adapted from Flickr, for illustrative purposes only.