A United Airlines Boeing 787 bound for Shanghai from Los Angeles over the weekend was forced to turn back midway, not due to mechanical failure, bad weather, or an emergency, but for a rather eye-popping reason: the captain forgot to bring his passport.
The long-haul flight, numbered UA 198, on Saturday (March 22), was flying for about two hours when the captain suddenly realized his mistake. Without his passport, he would not be able to enter China after the 13-hour flight. With no other options, the plane had to turn back, but not to Los Angeles International Airport; instead, it landed in San Francisco.
According to FlightAware data, the plane landed in San Francisco at 5 p.m. local time, leaving passengers incredulous at the unexpected turn of events.
Passenger Yang Shuhan from Hangzhou recalled the scene, telling CNN that the captain sounded “very frustrated” over the intercom.
While some passengers found the incident somewhat humorous, many others were angry. One user on Xiaohongshu wrote, “The captain forgot his passport too? I’m speechless.” Another commented, “I thought only passengers would make that kind of mistake, didn’t expect even the pilots could!”
United Airlines confirmed in an official statement that the reason for the flight interruption was that the pilot did not carry his passport onboard. The company promptly arranged for a new crew to operate the flight that evening and offered meal vouchers and compensation to the affected passengers.
Ms. Yang, like other passengers, received a $30 meal voucher and used it for dinner while waiting for the rescheduled flight. She has also applied for compensation from United Airlines and expects a response within 14 working days.
In addition to the delay for passengers on UA 198, travelers stranded in Shanghai awaiting their return flights were also affected, with their flights being postponed.
Ultimately, the new flight took off around 9 p.m. local time, arriving in Shanghai six hours later than originally scheduled.
Despite the sudden delay disrupting Ms. Yang’s work plans for Monday, she expressed appreciation for the captain’s honesty.
According to information from the United Airlines website, the company is one of the world’s largest airlines, serving 140 million passengers annually to over 300 destinations across six continents.