Flight makes unexpected U-turn after 2 hours in air: Here’s why the Los Angeles flight to China was delayed by 6 hours

Flight delays are not uncommon, and so aren't emergency landings. However, a fight returning to the source after spending hours in the air still raises an eyebrow.

After Air India's 10-hour mid-air saga, this time, a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to China took an unexpected U-turn.

According to a CNN report, the China-bound flight was in the air for 2 hours before it had to return to Los Angeles because of a “blunder”. This U-turn caused Shanghai passengers to experience a 6-hour delay overall.

What was the 'blunder' that caused the United Airlines flight to make a U-turn?

Only 2 hours after the flight had left Los Angeles, the crew discovered that one of the pilots had boarded the flight without their passport.

“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United Airlines was quoted as saying by the CNN.

What happened next?

The flight, carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew onboard, was headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean. However, about two hours later, CNN reported, citing the website FlightAware, that it turned around and eventually landed in San Francisco.

The flight again took off for China later in the evening with a new crew.

What did United Airlines say?

United Airlines issued a statement explaining why the flight had to make a U-turn and saying 257 passengers of its China-bound plane were compensated.

“We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation,” the airline said.

Why do pilots need passports while flying?

Even though the pilots operate and travel within the confines of an aircraft, they are required to carry their passports at all times, according to ncesc.com.

It serves as their identification and proof of citizenship when they land in foreign countries during layovers or scheduled stops.

How did netizens react to it?

Social media users slammed the airline for compensating with meal vouchers and wondered what would have happened if the pilot landed in Shanghai without his passport.

“What would happen though if the plane landed? Surely they would only find out once the plane had landed and the pilot was in the airport? There must be a way to authenticate a pilot other than passports like a back up on some type of system?” a user asked.

Another user replied, “Nothing horrible. Not sure why they didn’t just continue the flight. The airline would have notified the country ahead of time and he would probably have flown straight back as a passenger.”

“Wow that seems like a pretty costly mistake lol. Not even considering the fuel, they had to give passengers time compensation and food vouchers. As well as getting another crew to fly,” quipped a user.