A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Shanghai had to turn back and land in San Francisco after the pilot realized he had forgotten his passport.
United Flight 198 from LAX took off for China at around 2 p.m. Saturday, according to FlightAware. The site’s map for the flight shows the plane going northwest, then making a sharp turn back toward California, aborting a flight that normally takes 14 hours.
The pilot let passengers know that he “forgot (his) passport” in a “very frustrated voice,” passenger Yang Shuhan told CNN.
“We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation,” United told Business Insider.
On board were 257 passengers and 13 crew members.
Ms. Shuhan said she received two meal vouchers worth about $30 in total, adding she filed for more compensation on the airline’s website.
The plane landed in San Francisco at around 5 p.m., with the trip continuing on another plane that reached Shanghai early Monday, six hours later than originally planned, according to FlightAware.
The incident marks the second time this month that a United flight between Shanghai and California was delayed due to a pilot forgetting a passport.
