A united flight on the way to Shanghai was returned to California three hours after the trip because the pilot forgot their passport, according to a media representative for the airline.
UA Flight 198 left Los Angeles International Airport at 1:44 PM PDT and was planned to land at Shanghai Pudong International about 14 hours later until the pilot discovered his disastrous error.
The flight was then returned to California and landed in San Francisco just after 5 pm, per flight logbooks that were followed during the flight.
Passengers on the Boeing plane 787-9 then finally left for Shanghai around 9 p.m. and arrived just after 12.30 pm local time.
United ensured that a new crew brings the 257 passengers to Shanghai and offer them meal vouchers and compensation for the inconvenience, the media representative said.
The flight eventually landed at its destination for six hours behind schedule, which had influenced some plans from the passengers.
One passenger, who flew before business, said CNN that they had to reschedule their plans for Monday after the considerable delay.
A second traveler said they had to ride two hours after the landing in Shanghai, leaving them exhausted.
UA Flight 198 left Lax to Shanghai just before 2 p.m., but was quickly diverted after the pilot realized that they had forgotten their passport (file photo)
The flight left on Lax schedule just before 2 p.m. PDT, but was diverted to San Francisco about three hours after taking off (file photo)
The flight landed on Shangai Pudong International Airport just after 12.30 pm local time, which was behind six hours (file photo)
Yang Shuhan, another traveler, said that the pilot announced his embarrassing error about the intercom and sounded 'very frustrated'.
Yang told CNN that she received two meal vouchers of a total of $ 30 to use for a meal at San Francisco airport.
Shukor Yusof, the founder of Endau Analytics, an Aviation Consultancy, said it was 'unacceptable' for an airline like United to make a mistake like this.
He explained that although the distraction was only a few hours from where the flight started, it reflected a level of 'scattering' that probably cost the airline, adding that the error was 'unacceptable'.
Social media users also made the pilot online for the error, with one comment about X -reading: “How to forget the pilot of all people.”
'How did the pilot come first on the plane. Doesn't everyone get their passport checked? “Another interviewed.
Other users expressed their shock that the airline only offered meal vouchers for considerable discomfort.
“$ 15 coupon at SFO was probably enough for a cup water and a slice of bread alone,” a comment joked.
'$ 15 ?? Are you serious? Really happy that the company of billion dollars can scrap a few dollars, so that the passengers can grab a water and half -eaten bag of chips … “wrote another.
The almost 14 -hour flight was considerably delayed when a pilot realized that he did not have his passport and had to change United of crew three hours after taking off
There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members on board the flight. United customers received meal vouchers as compensation for the inconvenience (file photo)
The embarrassing error marks another spot in the aviation industry, which has been examined since the fatal collision in Washington DC that 67 passengers on board killed an American Airlines flight.
Airlines have been under a microscope by the public since the crash, where errors are being published more and more.
United Airlines came under fire only a few days ago when actress January Jones on Instagram shared that she had only $ 15 food vouchers after her flight was delayed 16 hours.
She shared a screenshot of her enormous delay and tagged the airline that encouraged them to 'do better'.
'A few $ 15 food vouchers is not going to cut it. Our 7:30 [p.m. flight] Last night was still not left, “she added.
United was also investigated earlier this week when a passenger claimed that they were dragged out of an airplane bathroom with their pants down by a pilot.
A passenger named Yisroel Liebb, 20, claimed in a complaint that the pilot shouted at him after 30 minutes in the bathroom to get out before he broke the lock and pulled him out.
According to Flight Radar, United is one of the largest airlines in the world based on the fleet size, the second only for American Airlines.
