Chinese embassy highlights aircrew shortage after Delta flight’s mysterious U-turn
- Delta Air Lines said a new policy in Shanghai caused its plane to return to US six hours into its flight, after the pilot cited China’s Covid-19 entry rules
- Embassy in US says staff shortages at American carriers have caused a lot of flight cancellations, as Omicron cases soar
Flight DL287 last Wednesday made an unscheduled return to Seattle, from where it had departed, after flying for six hours towards China.
The American carrier had said that a new policy at Shanghai Pudong Airport “requires longer time on the ground than Delta is able to schedule there”, adding that it was working to rebook customers on alternative flights.
The Chinese embassy on Tuesday suggested further context for the plane turning back.
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“It has come to the embassy’s attention that recently the shortage of staff on US airlines has become a major problem, and there have been several cases of crew members reluctant to work during the pandemic,” it said. “These resulted in the cancellation of a large number of domestic and international flights in the US.”