Everyone makes mistakes, but some things you just have to get right. A United Airlines plane departing from Los Angeles and heading to Shanghai, China, had to turn back over the Pacific Ocean for an astounding reason: one of the pilots had forgotten his passport. The incident, which happened recently but was only made public now, caused a six-hour delay and left passengers both incredulous and furious.
Flight UA 198, with 257 passengers and 13 crew members, took off without issues at 1:47 PM local time. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until after about two hours of cruising the captain’s voice interrupted the cabin’s calm with the unexpected announcement that the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner would have to turn around.
According to some travelers, the aviator’s voice sounded “frustrated” when delivering the news, and many initially thought it was a joke. Then came the grotesque explanation: one of the officers did not have the identification document required to enter the “Middle Kingdom.”
Instead of returning to Los Angeles, the aircraft was diverted to San Francisco, where it landed at 5:00 PM. There, the company replaced the “forgetful” pilot with another crew member, and the flight departed again at 9:00 PM.
United Airlines confirmed the incident with an official statement, explaining that it was a “crew-related issue” and offering passengers meal vouchers and reimbursements. However, for many, this was not enough to calm their frustration. The incident also raised questions about the carrier’s security control procedures.
The error sparked a wave of criticism, and according to industry expert Shukor Yusof, it represents an “embarrassing” episode for a global airline like United and highlights a “lack of discipline” considered unacceptable. The reputational damage is significant, especially because the incident occurred during an already critical time for the U.S. aviation sector, marked by delays and safety-related issues.
However, the case is not unique. In 2019, a British Airways flight mistakenly landed in Edinburgh instead of Düsseldorf due to a misunderstanding about travel documents. And in 2020, Pakistan International Airlines was banned by the European Union after the discovery of fake licenses among its pilots.
While United promises to review its procedures to prevent similar situations from occurring again, flight UA 198 remains a reminder of how a seemingly trivial detail can turn into a problem of gigantic proportions.
