Model Chrissy Teigen and her husband, singer John Legend, were on a flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo on Tuesday when the plane suddenly turned around and headed back to the states. Turns out a fellow passenger on All Nippon Airways Flight 175 had boarded the wrong plane.
After taking off at 11:36 a.m. PST, the plane returned to Los Angeles International Airport at 7:33 p.m. PST.
The confusion was sparked by two brothers who booked tickets on separate flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo, a government source confirmed to HuffPost following a CNN report Wednesday afternoon.
One of the flights was serviced by United Airlines and the other by All Nippon. They were scheduled, however, around the same time. Complicating matters further, the two airlines have a codeshare agreement, which allows one carrier to sell seats on a flight operated by another carrier.
Precisely how airline personnel allowed the brothers to board the same All Nippon flight is still unknown. Both men passed through the TSA security checkpoint without issue.
Some details on the mix-up became clear as the plane flew over the Pacific Ocean. Teigen said that All Nippon flight attendants told her the displaced passenger had a United Airlines boarding pass.
“So basically the boarding pass scanner is just a beedoop machine that makes beedoop noises that register to nowhere,” she joked.
A spokesperson for All Nippon told HuffPost in a statement that the cabin crew “became aware that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight and notified the pilot,” who then made the “correct decision” to turn around “out of the abundance of caution and safety for the passengers and crew onboard.”
The airline said the plane returned to Los Angeles in accordance with its security protocol. Flight 175 was carrying 226 passengers, CNN reported.
The carrier said it was “researching the situation currently to determine how the passenger boarded the flight.”
“[All Nippon Airways] would like to express its apologies to the passengers for the inconvenience. We take great pride providing exemplary customer service, and on this flight we failed to do so,” the statement concluded.
(HuffPost reached out to United for comment but has not yet received a response.)
As Teigen’s flight saga continued into Tuesday afternoon, she kept her Twitter followers updated. The plane was taken to a secure area of the LAX runway following its return to the airport, she said.
Teigen noted that authorities questioned certain passengers before allowing them to deplane.
A government source told HuffPost the two brothers were among those questioned, and they were released without issue.
Eventually, Teigen and Legend deplaned and went to an airline lounge.
While waiting, Teigen took solace in an episode of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and ate a bowl of ramen.
Investigators have yet to determine how one of the brothers boarded the wrong plane. But one thing is for sure: Teigen is on the case.
Hours after their scheduled takeoff, Teigen and Legend boarded another flight to Tokyo, thus continuing an already exhausting journey.
This article has been updated with additional information and statements from All Nippon Airways and a government source.