Mystery of Why Delta Air Flight to China Turned Back to Seattle More Than Half Way Through Flight

A Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Shanghai mysteriously turned around and returned almost six hours to the United States in what should have been an 11-hour flight to China. The flight cancellation in the air led to a reprimand from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, which said on its WeChat account that it had “lodged a protest” with the airline.

Delta has since canceled its scheduled Seattle-to-Shanghai service until December 30th at the earliest, but it remains unclear why the airline was forced to turn back in the first place.

According to witnesses on the flight, the pilot indicated that the Chinese authorities announced a change in entry regulations sometime after take-off. There were fears that passengers would no longer be eligible to enter China, so the only alternative was to fly back to Seattle.

Delta flight DL287 took off Tuesday at around 11 p.m. from Seattle for Seoul, where the crew is to transfer and the flight to Shanghai continues. Passengers are not allowed to get off the plane in Seoul, but Delta is using the South Korean capital as a layover to avoid burdensome pandemic restrictions being imposed on the crew in China.

Less than six hours after take-off and just as the Airbus A330 was entering Russian airspace, the plane suddenly turned around and made its way back to Seattle.

Local Chinese media was told by Shanghai airport officials that entry regulations have not changed for some time and that no sudden changes have been made since DL287 departed. Passengers aboard the flight were so stunned they did not believe Delta staff and police were supposedly called when the plane arrived back in Seattle.

A Delta spokesman insists the airline had no choice but to cancel the flight as rules changed after departure.

“New procedures that were required at Shanghai Pudong International Airport were introduced during the journey,” said a spokesman for the liner service from Seattle to Shanghai on Tuesday.

“The new procedures require more time on the ground than Delta can plan there,” the airline said in a statement.

The Chinese consulate remained unimpressed and urged the airlines to “guarantee the legitimate rights of passengers”. The consulate also reminded passengers not to travel unless clearly necessary.

China has maintained its strict zero-COVID policy and requires mandatory quarantine from all newcomers. The strict rules do not prevent some students from traveling abroad to complete their studies in western countries like the US.

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Mateusz Maszczynski

Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant with the most famous airline in the Middle East and flew for a well-known European airline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Passionate about the aviation industry, Matt has grown to become an expert on passenger experiences and human-centered stories. Keeping an ear to the ground, Matt’s industry insights, analysis, and coverage are widely used by some of the biggest names in journalism.