United Airlines pilot forgets passport, forces LAX-Shanghai flight to turn around mid-air—Passengers get $15 coupon

Flight UA198 diverted to San Francisco after passport blunder delays over 250 passengers on international route

In a bizarre travel mishap, a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn back mid-air after one of its pilots realized they had forgotten their passport. The unexpected detour caused major delays and sparked outrage among the 257 passengers, especially after the airline handed out just $15 meal vouchers as compensation.

Flight UA198, a Boeing 787-9, took off from LAX at 2:00 PM on March 22, 2025, only to reverse course two hours later, landing in San Francisco around 5:00 PM. The reason? One of the four pilots onboard couldn’t legally enter China without a passport—an oversight that turned into a six-hour headache for travelers.

A United Airlines plane made a U-turn two hours into the flight, after the pilot realized they forgot their passport

The 257 passengers were given a $15 coupon pic.twitter.com/geFv0aYNBQ

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) March 24, 2025

Social media lit up with passenger frustration. “UA198 diverted to SFO because the pilot forgot his passport? Now stuck for over six hours. Completely unacceptable. United, what compensation are you offering for this total mishandling?” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter).

Another chimed in sarcastically: “$15 at an airport? That gets you a bottle of water and half a granola bar!”

After securing a new crew, the rescheduled flight finally took off from San Francisco at 8:28 PM, landing in Shanghai at 12:48 AM on March 24—more than six hours behind schedule.

United confirmed the incident, stating: “On Saturday, flight UA198 from Los Angeles to Shanghai landed at San Francisco International Airport because the pilot did not have their passport onboard. We arranged for a new crew to transport customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”

The blunder isn’t an isolated incident—just a week earlier, another United pilot forgot their passport before a Shanghai-bound flight, causing a delay. These repeated missteps have passengers and aviation insiders alike questioning the airline’s pre-flight protocols. As one Reddit user suggested, “They have checklists for everything—fuel, maintenance, safety. Maybe add ‘Do you have your passport?’ to the list!”

While passengers in Europe could have received up to $650 for a preventable delay of this scale, U.S. travelers were left with snacks and simmering frustration. The takeaway? Even the skies aren’t safe from human error—and sometimes, it costs you more than just time.