American flight to China forced to turn around after pilot forgets passport

A flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was forced to turn back after it was discovered one of the pilots did not have a passport.

United Airlines flight UA 198 took off from Los Angeles International Airport at 2pm local time on Saturday, March 22, carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew members, heading northwest over the Pacific Ocean towards Shanghai.

Around two hours later, the plane turned back and was rerouted to San Francisco, where it landed at about 5pm local time, according to the website FlightAware.

“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United told ITV News’ affiliate CNN in a statement.

“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 with the new crew took off around 9pm and landed in Shanghai about six hours behind schedule.

Passenger Yang Shuhan was among those onboard the United Airlines Boeing 787 jetliner that turned around. / Credit: Yang Shuhan/CNN

Yang Shuhan, a Chinese passenger, told CNN she heard the pilot’s “very frustrated voice” over the intercom, saying he “forgot (his) passport”.

Shuhan, from Hangzhou in eastern China, was returning from a business trip. After landing in Shanghai at 12.43am on Monday, she still faced a two-and-a-half-hour drive, leaving her exhausted.

While the unexpected delay disrupted her Monday plans, she appreciated the pilot’s “honesty”.

However, many passengers voiced their frustration on RedNote, China’s TikTok-like platform, with some saying they were “outraged” and “speechless”.

One viral post which has received more than 10,000 likes, reportedly from another passenger, said: “How could someone mess up this badly at work?”

The disruptions continued with flight UA 199, the return flight from Shanghai to Los Angeles, which was also delayed due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft.

Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based Endau Analytics, an advisory firm that focuses on the aviation industry, told CNN: “It’s quite embarrassing (for United).”

He added that the mistake is “unacceptable” for a global airline like United and it shows “a lack of discipline.”