Passengers Have ‘New Fear Unlocked’ As Plane Flies For Nine Hours Only To Land Back At Same Airport

Passengers on a recent American Airlines flight have confessed to having a "new fear unlocked" after their plane spent nine hours in the air only to return to the same airport it had originally taken off from.

We've all heard some pretty bad travel stories lately, especially involving cruises.

But this recent incident ranks right up there with some of the worst.

Passengers boarded an American Airlines flight from Dallas on September 7, headed for Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea.

But after flying for five hours, they found themselves back where they started.

In total, the flight lasted nine hours, only to return to the Dallas airport.

The American Airlines flight turned around Kevin Carter/Getty Images

One passenger, Jimin Lee, documented the frustrating ordeal on her smartphone.

She posted a video to Instagram, where she can be seen snacking and drinking as the plane suddenly turned around. 

In the caption, she shared her thoughts: "New fear unlocked: Your flight to Korea may go five hours and come back with zero explanation."

According to Lee, the airline staff said there was an issue with the toilets. 

To add to the bizarre situation, she claimed that the pilot asked if anyone on board had a screwdriver to help fix the problem.

"American Airlines needs a lesson in effective communication," Lee added in her video as she showed the flight path on her screen. 

The map revealed the plane had flown across the U.S. and partway over the Pacific Ocean before being forced to return to Dallas.

Feeling frustrated by the lack of information, Lee eventually dug into some Flaming Hot Cheetos but joked that she needed "a ramyun and a strong drink" to cope.

The viral video then cut to the plane landing in Dallas, where the pilot confirmed there were "clear skies" for the descent. 

Lee wrapped up her video with the words: "Nine hours later we're back in Dallas. Lost for words."

The post quickly went viral, with many people commenting on Lee’s experience.

One person remarked, "If there is an ounce of anything potentially going wrong or messing up when doing a leg over the ocean, pilots will be more cautious than normal. This is totally normal."

Another viewer pointed out, "They should have just landed in SFO or LAX instead of going all the way back to Dallas. Makes no sense, probably didn’t want to pay for the hotels."

The flight returned back to where it started Instagram/@umma.nola

In response to the situation, an American Airlines spokesperson told UNILAD: "On September 7, American Airlines flight 281 with service from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Seoul (ICN) returned to DFW due to a maintenance issue. The flight landed safely and without incident at DFW, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we apologize for the inconvenience."

American Airlines also mentioned that the flight took off the next day using a replacement aircraft.