20-05-2024
A United Airlines transatlantic flight had to turn back after a business class passenger’s laptop became lodged in their seat, according to travel news site Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
Sunday’s flight from Zurich to Chicago rerouted to Shannon, Ireland. Data from Flightradar24 indicates the Boeing 767 was approximately 500 miles over the Atlantic Ocean when it changed course.
PYOK reported that engineers freed the laptop after landing, but the flight crew had reached their maximum allowable working hours and couldn’t continue flying the 157 passengers to Chicago.
AeroInside noted that passengers were accommodated in hotels overnight.
The aircraft was rescheduled to depart from Shannon to Chicago on Monday, over 24 hours after its initial landing, as per Flightradar24 data.
United did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, which was sent outside regular working hours.
Incidents of laptops or phones getting stuck in seats are not uncommon. Airline safety videos often caution passengers about this risk because lithium batteries can catch fire, which is why such devices should be carried in hand luggage rather than checked bags.
Continuing the flight over the Atlantic might have been hazardous since a fire at that point would leave no convenient place to land.
In March, a Breeze Airways flight from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh made an emergency landing after a passenger’s laptop caught fire, filling the cabin with smoke.