Pilot passport problem suspected for Chinese flight delay: report

Passengers on a flight from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Los Angeles, are delayed for nearly 15 hours overnight on Sunday, September 10, 2017. [Photo: Chengdu Business Daily]

A flight from Chengdu in southwest China to Los Angeles was delayed for nearly 15 hours, possibly because the captain forgot his proper passport, reports the Chengdu Business Daily.

The flight, which was scheduled to leave at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, didn't take off until 11:55 a.m. on Monday.

The more than 150 passengers were originally told the delay was due to a problem with flight scheduling.

However, a person claiming to be a staff member of Hainan Airlines later reportedly said the delay was the result of the captain accidentally taking his private passport with him, rather than his service passport.

Hainan Airlines has yet to clarify the reason for the delay, saying the information relayed to the irate passengers was put out by a service agency at the Shuangliu International Airport, rather than the company itself.

Hainan Airlines has provided 500 yuan in compensation to each passenger for the delay.