A United Airlines flight travelling from the USA to China was forced to make a diversion and land in San Francisco after the pilot realised they didn’t have their passport with them.
Flight UA198, which had 257 passengers onboard, left Los Angeles International Airport at 2pm local time on Saturday March 22.
The plane was headed on a 13-and-a-half-hour flight to Shanghai but was forced to make a U-turn just two hours into the journey.
It landed in San Francisco just before 5pm, with data from FlightRadar24 showing that the flight started to travel over the Pacific Ocean before turning around.
X user ‘@ParamSinghKalra’ posted: ‘UA198 diverted to SFO because the pilot forgot his passport?
‘Now stuck 6+ hours. Completely unacceptable. @United, what compensation are you offering for this total mishandling?’
A United Airlines spokesperson replied to the tweet saying: ‘We sincerely apologize for the unexpected travel disruption.”
According to travel website View from the Wing, passengers received a message from United saying: ‘Your flight diverted to San Francisco due to an unexpected crew-related issue requiring a new crew.
A United Airlines flight travelling from the USA to China was forced to make a diversion and land in San Francisco after the pilot realised they didn’t have their passport with them
‘Once they arrive, we’ll get you back on your way to Shanghai as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for this disruption and appreciate your patience.’
View from the Wing said that passengers received a $15/£11.59 meal voucher at San Francisco airport.
In a statement to MailOnline Travel, a United Airlines spokesperson said: ‘On Saturday, United flight 198 from Los Angeles to Shanghai landed at San Francisco International Airport as the pilot did not have their passport onboard.
‘We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.’
In 2024, passengers on an easyJet flight were left stunned after their flight was held up by a pilot so he could source better food for his crew.
The pilot told the waiting passengers that he couldn’t feed his crew with just two sandwiches.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .