- An All Nippon Airways Boeing 777-300ER was forced to return to LAX on Tuesday after it was discovered that a passenger boarded the wrong flight.
- As a result of the diversion, passengers spent 8 hours on board the flight to nowhere.
- How a passenger managed to board the incorrect flight is under investigation.
An All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet was forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday evening after cabin crew discovered that a passenger was on the wrong flight.
"As part of the airline's security procedure, the pilot in command decided to return to the originating airport, where the passenger was disembarked," ANA said in a statement.
It is unclear how the passenger managed to board an incorrect flight. The airline said on Wednesday that it is investigating the situation.
In addition, ANA apologized to passengers for failing to provide "exemplary customer service."
However, the airline is working to accommodate all of the passengers who were on board the diverted flight.
At the time of the diversion, ANA Flight 175 was flying over the Pacific Ocean, nearly four hours into an 11-hour flight to Tokyo Narita Airport.
In total, passengers spent eigh hours on board the Boeing 777-300ER jet before returning to LAX at 7:33 pm local time.
Among those onboard was model Chrissy Teigen who live-tweeted the diversion.
Here is the airline's full statement:
All Nippon Airways (ANA) confirms that NH175 scheduled from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) departed on time at 11:36 AM PST December 26, and safely returned to LAX at 7:33 PM PST.
During the flight, the cabin crew became aware that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight and notified the pilot. As part of the airline's security procedure, the pilot in command decided to return to the originating airport, where the passenger was disembarked.
ANA is researching the situation currently to determine how the passenger boarded the flight.
ANA would like to express its apologies to the passengers for the inconvenience and is making accommodations for all passengers until the next flight.
We take great pride providing exemplary customer service, and on this flight, we failed to do so.