United flight forced to turn around after pilot forgets passport

LOS ANGELES (TNND) — A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to China was forced to turn around Saturday after the pilot forgot one very important item - his passport.

United Flight 198 was headed to Shanghai and was forced to land at San Franciso International Airport because "the pilot did not have their passport onboard," the airline said in a statement.

Flight tracking website Flight Aware listed the plane as landing at SFO around 5:05 p.m. local time Saturday and eventually taking off at 8:28 p.m. before landing in Shanghai at 12:48 a.m. local time, which is six hours behind schedule.

The airline said a new crew was arranged to take the 257 passengers to their destination. Meal vouchers and compensation were also provided to customers.

One passenger complained on X about the mishap, stating, "UA198 diverted to SFO because the pilot forgot his passport? Now stuck 6+ hours. Completely unacceptable. @united, what compensation are you offering for this total mishandling?"

A spokesperson responded with an apology for the "unexpected travel disruption" and offered assistance with an agent.

"The Agents did what they could. It’s on United that they let this happen," the passenger said. "All the passengers deserve a compensation."