On Saturday, United Airlines flight 198, which was scheduled to fly from San Francisco to Shanghai, had to be diverted to Los Angeles. The reason was that a pilot had forgotten to bring his passport for the journey. When the passengers landed at LAX, they were given $15 meal vouchers. This was the message the airline sent to the passengers:
UA198 SFO – PVG: Your flight was diverted to San Francisco because of an unforeseen crew – related problem that necessitated a new crew. Once the new crew arrives, we will resume your journey to Shanghai as quickly as possible. We are truly sorry for this disruption and thank you for your patience.
Well, it’s understandable that errors occur. However, the same thing took place on another United flight on the same route just last week. In that instance, they noticed the issue before takeoff. The flight was delayed for several hours while they arranged for a new pilot to operate the aircraft.
When passengers board an international flight, gate agents verify their passports along with their boarding passes before allowing them to board the plane. Evidently, they should be doing the same for the crew.
The expense of diverting a Boeing 777 – 300ER is huge. Besides causing inconvenience to all the passengers on the flight, there are crew costs and additional fuel consumption. Presumably, the pilot had to jettison fuel before landing in Los Angeles. Also, the return flight is likely to be delayed. It’s the airline and the passengers who bear the cost of this mistake, not the pilot.
