Plane had to turn back because the pilot forgot his passport.

The incident happened on March 22. The flight had to be diverted to San Francisco. The airline also reassured passengers that it would fly them to Shanghai as soon as possible and apologized for the disruption.

In a post on the world-famous Reddit forum, a passenger who was said to be on the flight that day said: "We were waiting on the plane wondering what happened. Then a pilot left the cockpit and they said a pilot forgot his passport. It was a joke." The person added that the pilot who forgot his passport announced that he "took full responsibility for the mistake."

Passengers on the flight were given $15 meal vouchers. The airline also brought in a new pilot to replace them. The flight landed six hours later than scheduled.

Ben Schlappig, who runs the airline website One Mile At A Time, called it an "embarrassing mistake."

Meanwhile, the airline website A View From The Wing writes: "When you board an international flight, the gate agent will check your passport and ticket before allowing you to board. They should do the same for the entire flight crew."

A similar incident happened in 2024, on a Delta flight.