FLIGHT TURNS AROUND BECAUSE PILOT FORGETS PASSPORT

A flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn around after it was discovered one of the pilots had forgotten their passport at home.

This was announced by United Airlines, which commented on one of its Boeing 787s being forced to turn around two hours after take-off.

The flight departed from Los Angeles on Saturday 22 March at around 14:00. There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members on board.

Two hours after take-off, the plane turned around and was redirected to San Francisco, where it landed at around 17:00.

In a statement released by the airline, it said: “The pilot did not have their passport onboard. We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”

The new crew took over in San Francisco and took off around 21:00. It landed in the Chinese city of Shanghai about six hours later than initially planned.

The pilot’s mishap delayed the inbound and outbound flights. The flight from Shanghai to Los Angeles was delayed by six hours.

Many passengers were left unimpressed with the situation, while others had respect for the pilot’s honesty.

CNN reports that United Airlines 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.

Image credit: Travel News