United Airlines' Plane Turns Back as Pilot Negligence

1 week ago 10

March 26, 2025 | 09:16 pm

United Airlines planes are parked at their gates at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 20, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Airlines plane departing from Los Angeles to China was forced to turn back after flying for two hours, because the pilot forgot to bring a passport. The plane departed from Los Angeles International Airport, California, United States on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 2 p.m. local time.

After two hours of flying, the plane was diverted to San Francisco International Airport. The plane with flight number UA 198 carried 257 passengers and 13 crew members. As quoted by People, United Airlines stated that the company gives meal vouchers and compensation to customers. The airline also arranged a new crew to take the passengers to their destination that night.

According to the Flight Aware flight tracking site, the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport at 5:05 pm. It then took off from San Francisco at 8:28 pm and landed in Shanghai on Monday, March 24, 2024, at 12:28 am local time. The flight was delayed by six hours from the scheduled time.

The plane's passengers shared their grievances about the delayed flight. View from the Wing reported that a message shared with the passengers did not clearly mention the reason for the diverted flight.

The announcement said the flight was diverted to San Francisco due to unexpected crew-related issues that required a new crew. Once they arrive, the airline will take the passengers back to Shanghai as soon as possible. They apologize for this disruption and appreciate your patience.

A passenger from China, Yang Shuhan, said the plane's pilot spoke in a very frustrated voice that he had forgotten to bring his passport. Due to the diverted flight, he received two meal vouchers worth USD30. He also submitted a compensation claim through the United Airlines website and had to wait for up to two weeks.

Meanwhile, others asked what compensation they would receive for the diversion. A passenger via X demanded compensation from United Airlines for the pilot's neglect.

United Airlines responded to the post with an apology and suggested contacting the Agent on Demand team through their website for compensation.

The passenger later replied that the agents had done everything they could. It is the United States that has allowed this to happen. All passengers are entitled to compensation. Meanwhile, according to a CNN report, another passenger shared on the China RedNote app that they were angry and could not say anything about the plane diversion incident.

Shukor Yusof, the founder of Endau Analytics, an aviation industry-focused advisory firm based in Singapore, said the pilot's forgotten passport incident is embarrassing for United Airlines. He stated that such errors are unacceptable, especially for global airlines like United Airlines. This also indicates a lack of discipline among the airline's crew members.

Furthermore, Shukor added that the error could also be detrimental to the airline, considering costs such as jet fuel that had to be discarded before the diversion and compensation for the passengers.

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