A flight from LA to China was forced to turn around after the pilot forgot his passport

There are all kinds of emergency reasons why your flight could be forced to abort its journey and land at a different airport, and the pilot forgetting their passport is apparently one of them.

A United Airlines flight had to turn around on Saturday (22nd March) after the pilot realised he didn’t have his passport on the plane. Yes, really.

Flight UA198 departed from Los Angeles International Airport at 2pm local time with 257 passengers on board and began its long 13-and-a-half-hour flight to Shanghai, China.

However, after two whole hours in the air, the plane had to make a complete U-turn and head back to San Francisco, where it landed just before 5pm on Saturday.

When they arrived at the new airport, the passengers received an alert that said: “Your flight diverted to San Francisco due to an unexpected crew-related issue requiring a new crew.”

“Once they arrive, we’ll get you back on your way to Shanghai as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for this disruption and appreciate your patience.”

PILOT FORGOT PASSPORT—UNITED 787 DIVERTS MID-FLIGHT!#UA198 from LAX to Shanghai was 1 hour 45 minutes into its journey when a pilot realized they didn’t have their passport. Since they couldn’t enter China, the flight had to divert to SFO for a crew swap. pic.twitter.com/b6gV4MYgHv

— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) March 24, 2025

However, they already knew what the issue was because the pilot told them he had forgotten his passport via the plane’s intercom.

A Chinese passenger on board, Yang Shuhan, told CNN she heard the pilot’s “very frustrated voice” saying he “forgot [his] passport”.

“On Saturday, United flight 198 from Los Angeles to Shanghai landed at San Francisco International Airport as the pilot did not have their passport onboard,” a spokesperson for the airline told The Independent.

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

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After using their $15 (£11.57) meal vouchers, the passengers departed from San Francisco on a new flight to Shanghai at around 9pm that evening, seven hours after the original flight took off.

You couldn’t write it!

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Featured image by: Miguel Ángel Sanz/Unsplash and Flight Radar