iStockphoto / Laser1987
A 257-passenger United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, China was diverted to SFO. This came after hours in the air once it was discovered a pilot had made the most rookie mistake of international travel. The flight and its hundreds of passengers then spent six hours on the tarmac in San Francisco while waiting for a new crew, turning the 14-hour flight in a 24+ hour trip.
Data from FlightAware.com shows that flight UA198 took off from LAX at 1:47PM and landed at SFO at 5:05PM after being rerouted on the way to Shanghai. According to a report from NBC News, the plane then left that night after swapping out a new crew.
When you book an international flight what is the *one thing* that airlines make you do that is different from domestic travel? You got it, of course. The answer is ‘enter your passport number.’
And when you arrive at the airport to check bags, what is the first thing people at the luggage/ticketing counter as you for? Your passport, of course.
Then when you get to your flight’s gate, if you only brought a carry-on, a crew member will call you up to the desk to show your passport if you haven’t already. Sometimes, and this has happened to me multiple times, the airline will check your passport at ticketing *and* at the gate, in addition to when you booked the ticket online. Chances are you also show/showed that same passport when going through TSA security as well.
All of that is to say, this pilot was operating with impunity. They were able to walk past any queue at TSA security by flashing their flight crew badge. Instead of showing their passport to security they likely flashed that same United Airlines pilot badge. Then once they were at the gate they scanned in with their United Airlines credentials and never at any point were asked to show their passport.
As idiotic as the pilot is for getting on a flight to China without a passport, United Airlines is just as guilty here for not having redundancies in place to make pilots show passports before boarding like the rest of us… Like the paying customers, all 257 of them, on that flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai.
Ultimately, the flight got on its way to Shanghai after a delay and a new crew but the 257 paying customers on the United Airlines flight were all inconvenienced because one pilot didn’t double check his gear… Let this be a reminder to everyone to always check and re-check your luggage/bags before any international travel.