We’ve all had embarrassing days at work. Maybe you’ve been caught picking your nose during a Teams meeting, maybe you walked out of the bathroom with some tissue trailing from your foot, heck, maybe you even deleted some important files and had to face an angry boss. But for one unfortunate United Airlines pilot, they just had a humiliating day at work that’s gone viral. And rightly so, given how dumb the mistake is!
On Mar. 22 United Airlines Flight UA198 departed Los Angeles on its trip to Shanghai. Two hours into the flight the Boeing 787 abruptly performed a U-turn over the Pacific. The reason? Well, as the sheepish and frustrated pilot admitted to the passengers over the intercom, he’d left his passport back in Los Angeles. Whoops!
United Airlines flight from LAX bound for China turns around after pilot forgets passport
— Guptchar Society (@GuptcharSociety) March 25, 2025
A United Airlines flight that left Los Angeles bound for China Saturday had to turn around after the pilot realized they did not have their passport on them.
United flight 198 departed the… pic.twitter.com/ka0e6EvH1d
Just like the rest of us, pilots need passports when they arrive in a new country. Presumably after conferring with home base, the decision was made to head back home and try again. The plane was promptly redirected to San Francisco, where each passenger was given a derisory $15 meal voucher and a new flight arranged, ultimately arriving in Shanghai 6 hours late.
The mood on board seems mutinous, with many Chinese passengers confounded that an American pilot could make such an error. On Chinese social media app RedNote one baffled passenger said “How could someone mess up this badly at work?”. Those in the airline industry are similarly dumbfounded, with aviation advisory firm founder Shukor Yusof underlining that this is “embarrassing” for United, and indicates a severe “lack of discipline” from their pilots.
It’s safe to say United Airlines isn’t the most popular company at the best of times. As such, the mood on social media is frustration combined with a grim acceptance that things aren’t going to get better anytime soon:
Can you imagine this, you’re on your way to Shanghai, China on a United Airlines Boeing 787 out of LAX and the pilot realizes they forgot their passport and you divert to SFO only to compensated by a $15 food voucher. 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/xUUhQ2cjHD
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) March 24, 2025
Yesterday, on United Airlines flight UA198 from LA to Shanghai, after flying for two hours, the captain realized that he hadn't brought his passport… and the flight had no choice but to divert to San Francisco Airport to change the flight crew.😂 pic.twitter.com/sSK6CEL5a9
— ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) March 25, 2025
On one hand we can sympathize with the pilot. Heading outa on trip and realizing mid-way through that you’ve left something very important at home has happened to us all. Plus, anyone who’s ever even briefly misplaced their passport while traveling will know the cold dread you feel until it’s discovered.
That said, most of us don’t have hundreds of people’s lives in our hands at work, so knowing that this United Airlines pilot is forgetful and doesn’t check everything is in order before taking off is a little scary.
Published: Mar 25, 2025 05:51 am