Oops! United Airlines pilot forgets passport, forcing flight to turn back 2 hours after departing Los Angeles

A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was forced to turn back mid-air after one of the pilots realised he had forgotten his passport, CNN reported.

The flight, carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew members, departed from Los Angeles International Airport at around 2 pm on March 22 before being rerouted due to the oversight.

After two hours, the Boeing 787 jetliner turned around and was redirected to San Francisco, where it landed around 5 pm local time, according to the website FlightAware.

“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United Airlines told 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.”

Later, the flight took off with new crew at around 9 pm and landed in Shanghai about six hours behind its normal arrival time, flight tracking data showed.

The United Airlines flight's rerouting came as travelers around the world continued to face disruptions over the shutdown at London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest hub, due to a power outage the day prior.

A Chinese passenger on board, told CNN that she heard the pilot’s “very frustrated voice” over the intercom, saying he “forgot (his) passport”.

She also said she has filed for a compensation claim on the airline’s website.

In a post on RedNote, China’s Instagram-like platform, another Chinese passenger on board wrote: “How could someone mess up this badly at work?”

CNN cited a Shanghai-based business traveler, saying 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 said.

According to United Airlines website, the carrier is one of the world’s largest airlines, flying 140 million people to more than 300 destinations across six continents every year.

United Airlines pilot forcibly removes flyer from aircraft bathroom

In a separate incident, a United Airlines pilot allegedly forcibly removed an Orthodox Jewish passenger from an airplane bathroom, exposing him to other passengers mid-flight.

The incident occurred during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston, resulting in the passenger’s genitalia being exposed due to the pilot’s actions

Yisroel Liebb, a New Jersey resident, has filed a federal lawsuit against United Airlines and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleging mistreatment during a flight from Tulum to Houston.

According to AP, the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, claims that Homeland Security officers handcuffed and removed him upon landing. Liebb stated that on 28 January, he was in the plane’s rear bathroom for about 20 minutes when a flight attendant woke the pilot, identified as Sebbag, from a nap and asked him to check on the situation.