United Airlines plane turns around after pilot forgets passport
A United Airlines Boeing 787 jetliner flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn around last weekend after it was discovered one of the pilots had taken off without a passport, the airline told CNN in a statement.
Flight UA 198 departed LAX at around 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, with 257 passengers and 13 crew onboard and headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean, bound for China's largest city.
About two hours later, the plane turned around and was redirected to San Francisco, where it landed around 5 p.m. local time, according to the website FlightAware.
'The pilot did not have their passport onboard,' United said in the 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 9 p.m. and landed in Shanghai about six hours behind schedule.
Yang Shuhan, a Chinese passenger on board, told CNN that she heard the pilot's 'very frustrated voice' over the intercom, saying he 'forgot (his) passport.'
After landing in San Francisco, Yang received two meal vouchers totaling $30, which she used for a meal at a Japanese restaurant in the airport. She said she also filed a compensation claim on United's website, where she was informed to expect a response within 14 business days.
The traveler from Hangzhou, in eastern China, was on her way back from a business trip. After reaching Shanghai at 12:43 a.m. on Monday, she still had to drive another two and a half hours, she said, leaving her exhausted.
While the unexpected delay threw a wrench in her Monday working plans, Yang said she appreciated the pilot's 'honesty.' However, many of her fellow passengers grumbled and said they were 'outraged' and 'speechless' on RedNote, China's Instagram-like platform.
'How could someone mess up this badly at work?' read a popular RedNote post appearing to be from another Chinese passenger on board. The post has gotten more than 10,000 likes.
The disruptions didn't stop with UA 198; passengers on the returning flight, UA 199 from Shanghai to Los Angeles, were also affected due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft.
A Shanghai-based business traveler, who requested to stay anonymous over privacy concerns, told CNN that their LA-bound flight was also delayed for about six hours, forcing them to change their ticket to catch a connecting flight.
'I'm feeling pretty frustrated,' the person told CNN just after landing at LAX late Sunday night. 'Because of the delay, I have to reschedule all my plans for Monday, which is really inconvenient.'
'It's quite embarrassing (for United),' Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based Endau Analytics, an advisory firm that focuses on the aviation industry, told CNN.
He added that the mistake is 'unacceptable' for a global airline like United and it shows 'a lack of discipline.'
United is one of the world's largest carriers, flying 140 million people to more than 300 destinations across six continents each year, according to the company's website.
Shukor noted that the 'absent-mindedness' reflected in the incident could cost the airline dearly, taking into account the costs of things like the jet fuel they had to dump before diverting and compensation for the passengers.
While a series of plane crashes involving US carriers in recent months has raised security concerns, the latest incident with United is 'more of a protocol issue,' said Shukor.
Just last week, an Orthodox Jewish passenger filed a lawsuit against the airline, alleging a United pilot forcibly removed him from a lavatory while he was experiencing constipation, exposing his genitalia to others during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston.
Meanwhile, a New Jersey mother blasted United for asking her to remove her 'medically complex' son's breathing tube ahead of the plane's takeoff. Her TikTok video about the incident has garnered more than 1.3 million views.
See Full Web Article
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Southwest announced yet another way it's becoming just a regular airline
Southwest Airlines, primarily a domestic airline throughout its over 50-year history, is looking at expanding to overseas markets, a further sign that the once-distinctive Texas airline is following the path of rival carriers. 'Southwest Airlines is continuing to consider ways to grow our business as we evolve to meet the needs of our current and future customers,' Southwest said a statement to CNN. 'One of the things we are exploring is the potential to expand our network to new international destinations on our Boeing 737 aircraft.' Southwest currently flies to a handful of international locations in the Caribbean, but had not expanded beyond those routes. Southwest had been a low-cost carrier for most of its history, with relatively uncommon features like offering only one class of tickets, open seating and no baggage or change fees. But within the last couple of years, Southwest has, under pressure from an activist shareholder group, started charging baggage fees for the first checked bag, began red-eye flights, and announced plans for premium seating and reserved seating. The reserved seats will be available starting in January. Southwest did not say what markets it is considering for international service, or when the routes might start. It will need to reach agreements with its unions representing pilots and flight attendants before it can start long-haul international service. 'There are several dependencies that would have to be considered to make that a reality, including changes to our pilot and flight attendant contracts,' Southwest said in its statement. The possibility of expanded international flights was first revealed by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association in a note to its members on Wednesday. While details of the company's plans are not yet known, 'we expect negotiations to cover a handful of destinations at most,' the union said in an email to members. Southwest currently serves only 10 international markets, all relatively close to the United States – Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
What to do if your vacation plans are canceled by weather amid Hurricane Erin
Hurricane Erin churned along on Aug. 20, bringing dangerous conditions to parts of the United States and other popular destinations that could impact travel plans. Much of the country's East Coast, along with the beaches of the Bahamas, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada, are likely to see life-threatening surf and rip currents "during the next several days," according to the National Hurricane Center. 'Storm surge flooding and tropical storm conditions are expected in the North Carolina Outer Banks beginning later today or tonight,' an Aug. 20 advisory said. 'The storm surge will be accompanied by large waves, leading to significant beach erosion and overwash, making some roads impassable.' Here's what travelers should know if trips are disrupted. What happens to flights? Flyers are owed refunds if their flight is canceled for any reason and they choose not to travel on alternative flights offered by their airline. Passengers can sometimes get additional compensation if the reason is within the airline's control, but weather doesn't fall into that category. Airlines also often offer waivers that let travelers change their flights without paying extra fees or a fare difference, so it's worth checking with your carrier before flying. Around 190 U.S. flights were canceled as of 1 p.m. ET on Aug. 20, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Travelers may also be entitled to refunds for a 'significant delay,' though that can depend on how long the delay lasted, the flight's length and other factors, and does not have a standard definition. 'DOT determines whether you are entitled to a refund following a significant delay on a case-by-case basis,' the Department of Transportation's website reads. Does travel insurance cover it? 'Trip cancellation or interruption coverage may apply – especially if Hurricane Erin makes your destination uninhabitable,' Suzanne Morrow, CEO of InsureMyTrip, told USA TODAY in an email. However, she noted that for hurricane coverage, travelers must buy their policies before a storm is named, and recommended buying early. Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) plans can also cover cancellations for reasons standard policies may not. 'CFAR must be purchased within 14-21 days of the initial trip deposit and can reimburse up to 50%-75% of prepaid, non-refundable trip costs if the trip is canceled at least 48 hours before departure,' Morrow said. What about my Airbnb or Vrbo? Airbnb's Major Disruptive Events Policy covers a range of potential events, including unforeseeable weather and natural disasters. The policy allows guests to cancel their booking and get a refund, credit or other compensation, according to Airbnb's website. However, certain weather events are not covered, such as those that 'are common enough to be foreseeable in a given location, such as hurricanes in Florida during hurricane season or winter weather in the northern hemisphere during winter months,' the company noted. Travelers can contact Airbnb directly to ask whether their reservation is eligible. Vrbo has a similar Extenuating Circumstances Policy. 'Foreseeable weather disasters (such as hurricanes, cyclones, and extreme winter storms) may be covered if they cause or coincide with another covered event,' the vacation rental platform said on its website. 'For example, a hurricane that causes prolonged outages to public utilities to a vast majority of homes in a major region or city (cannot be outages to a few neighborhoods).' Contributing: Zach Wichter, USA TODAY Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Southwest announced yet another way it's becoming just a regular airline
Southwest Airlines, primarily a domestic airline throughout its over 50-year history, is looking at expanding to overseas markets, a further sign that the once-distinctive Texas airline is following the path of rival carriers. 'Southwest Airlines is continuing to consider ways to grow our business as we evolve to meet the needs of our current and future customers,' Southwest said a statement to CNN. 'One of the things we are exploring is the potential to expand our network to new international destinations on our Boeing 737 aircraft.' Southwest currently flies to a handful of international locations in the Caribbean, but had not expanded beyond those routes. Southwest had been a low-cost carrier for most of its history, with relatively uncommon features like offering only one class of tickets, open seating and no baggage or change fees. But within the last couple of years, Southwest has, under pressure from an activist shareholder group, started charging baggage fees for the first checked bag, began red-eye flights, and announced plans for premium seating and reserved seating. The reserved seats will be available starting in January. Southwest did not say what markets it is considering for international service, or when the routes might start. It will need to reach agreements with its unions representing pilots and flight attendants before it can start long-haul international service. 'There are several dependencies that would have to be considered to make that a reality, including changes to our pilot and flight attendant contracts,' Southwest said in its statement. The possibility of expanded international flights was first revealed by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association in a note to its members on Wednesday. While details of the company's plans are not yet known, 'we expect negotiations to cover a handful of destinations at most,' the union said in an email to members. Southwest currently serves only 10 international markets, all relatively close to the United States – Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos.
