A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was forced to turn around after the pilot forgot to bring a passport, CNN reported on Tuesday.
The flight, with 257 passengers and 13 crew members onboard, departed just before 2 p.m. but was diverted to San Francisco, landing just after 5 p.m., according to data on FlightAware.com.
“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United Airlines said in a statement. “We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening."
After returning to San Francisco, the flight was given a new crew and took off for Shanghai at 9 p.m.
A passenger on board heard the pilot’s “very frustrated voice” over the intercom, saying he “forgot (his) passport,” CNN quoted.
The company added that “customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”
Airline complaints
Last week, a United Airlines pilot forcibly removed a visibly Jewish man out of an airplane bathroom in a state of undress, where after he was subjected to an antisemitic rant by the pilot, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.
“The pilot became visibly enraged, broke the lock on the door, and forced the door to the bathroom open, pulling Liebb out of the bathroom with his pants still around his ankles,” according to a complaint made by the passenger, Yisroel Liebb.
Once the flight landed, Liebb and Jacob Sebbag, who was sitting next to him, were removed from the plane US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and detained.
The two were released without charges; however, they missed connecting flights to New York.
Liebb has since filed a federal lawsuit against the airline and the US Department of Homeland Security.