A United Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to China was forced to turn around after the pilot realized he did not have his passport with him.
The Boeing 787 jetliner departed Los Angeles International Airport for Shanghai Pudong International Airport with 257 passengers and 13 crew on Saturday around 2 p.m. Some two hours into the journey, United Airlines Flight 198 reversed course and diverted to San Francisco, where it touched down around 5 p.m. local time, according to data on Flightaware.com.
“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United said in a statement to CNN on Monday. “We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”
Yang Shuhan, a passenger on the flight, said the pilot revealed his mistake to passengers with an announcement over the intercom, and that he sounded “very frustrated” at the time. She told CNN she received a pair of meal vouchers valuing $60 in total. The flyer also said she filed a compensation claim on United’s website, where she was informed to expect a response within 14 business days.
The flight departed with a new crew around 9 p.m., and it arrived at its destination some six hours behind schedule. Flyers on United Airlines flight 199 from Shanghai to Los Angeles were also impacted by the snafu due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft.