One of the pilots on board United Airlines Flight 198 discovered his passport was missing while in mid-flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, so the flight turned around. The March 22 incident caused six hours of delays while drawing reactions of critique through online posts.
Boeing 787 jetliner UA 198 started its flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 2 p.m. with 257 passengers joined by 13 crew members. After two hours of flight, the aircraft made a reverse direction and landed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) at 5 p.m.
The statement from United Airlines to CNN noted the reason behind the unexpected return was the pilot’s absence of their passport from the aircraft. Another crew took over responsibility, and the flight departed at 9 p.m. and reached Shanghai with a total delay of six hours.
The delayed flight prompted several angry comments from passengers, including Yang Shuhan and other aircraft travelers. The pilot of UA198 communicated his frustrated tone to passengers through a plane intercom after realizing his mistake, according to Yang Shuhan, who was traveling from Hangzhou. Social media users on RedNote expressed both appreciation for openness and vocalized their strong anger toward the incident.
The aviation industry expert Shukor Yusof declared that United Airlines should not tolerate such a mistake due to its status as a leading airline. Hairline A mistake with the flight number resulted in delaying UA 198 operations and the following UA 199 flight from Shanghai to Los Angeles.
United Airlines faces additional controversies after a breach that joins existing disputes about a Jewish religious suit and a TikTok video made by a mother for medical care. The passport error represents a professional and disciplinary problem within the aviation sector despite being unrelated to flight security.
