On March 22, 2025, a United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operating as Flight UA198, departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time, bound for Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China. The flight, carrying 257 passengers and 13 crew members, was expected to be a routine long-haul journey across the Pacific Ocean. However, about two hours into the flight, an unusual situation unfolded that forced the aircraft to turn back, ultimately landing at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and leaving passengers delayed by nearly six hours. The reason for this unexpected diversion was both surprising and avoidable: one of the pilots had forgotten their passport, a critical document required for international travel, even for crew members operating the flight.
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The discovery came after the plane had already traveled northwest over the Pacific Ocean. Realizing the oversight, the crew made the decision to divert to San Francisco, a major hub for United Airlines and a closer option than returning to Los Angeles. Flight tracking data from FlightAware indicates that the aircraft touched down at SFO around 5:00 p.m., roughly three hours after its initial departure from LAX. Passengers, who had settled in for the 13-hour journey to Shanghai, were undoubtedly caught off guard by the announcement. One passenger, Yang Shuhan, a business traveler from Hangzhou, China, recalled hearing the pilot’s voice over the intercom, tinged with frustration, as he admitted to forgetting his passport. For Yang and others, what began as a standard trip quickly turned into an exhausting ordeal.
Upon landing in San Francisco, United Airlines acted swiftly to address the situation. The original crew was replaced with a new one, ensuring that a properly documented pilot could take over the controls. The airline provided passengers with meal vouchers—Yang received two vouchers totaling $30, which she used to purchase a meal at a Japanese restaurant in the airport—and promised additional compensation for the inconvenience. After a delay of several hours, the flight resumed its journey, departing SFO around 9:00 p.m. and arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at approximately 12:48 a.m. local time on March 24, about six hours behind its scheduled arrival. For Yang, the late landing meant an additional two-and-a-half-hour drive home, compounding the fatigue of an already disrupted trip.
United Airlines issued a statement acknowledging the incident, confirming that the diversion was necessary because “the pilot did not have their passport onboard.” The airline emphasized its efforts to mitigate the disruption, noting that a new crew was arranged to take passengers to their destination that evening. While the statement did not elaborate on how the oversight occurred, it highlighted the provision of meal vouchers and compensation as part of their response to affected customers. The incident also had a ripple effect, delaying the return flight, UA199, from Shanghai to Los Angeles, as the aircraft’s late arrival in China disrupted the schedule. One Shanghai-based traveler reported a six-hour delay on their Los Angeles-bound flight, forcing them to adjust connecting travel plans. This was not an isolated occurrence for United Airlines in March 2025. Just over a week earlier, on March 14, another flight, UA857 from San Francisco to Shanghai, was delayed before departure due to a pilot lacking their passport. In that case, a replacement pilot was found, and the flight proceeded without needing to divert midair. The recurrence of such incidents within a short timeframe raises questions about crew preparation protocols at one of the world’s largest airlines, which transports approximately 140 million passengers annually to over 300 destinations across six continents. Aviation expert Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based Endau Analytics, described the mistake as “unacceptable” for a carrier of United’s stature, pointing to the significant costs incurred, such as wasted fuel and passenger compensation, as well as the reputational damage. For passengers like Yang, who filed a compensation claim with United and was told to expect a response within 14 business days, the incident underscored the fragility of even the most routine aspects of air travel. What began as a simple oversight by one individual ultimately disrupted the plans of hundreds, turning a long-haul flight into an even longer journey.