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United flight delayed after attendant forgets phone with flight details, customer info

"They never bothered to explain it to us, and I think what most people were looking for was just an explanation," one customer told KHOU 11.

HOUSTON -- Nearly 200 passengers on a United Flight into Houston were delayed Wednesday after a flight attendant forgot her work cell phone.

Passenger Trevor Bors takes flight 1789 from Calgary, Canada, to IAH every month or two for work and said he’s used to an airline’s typical travel snafus.

“There are weather delays and mechanical delays,” Bors said. “You kind of put up with that.”

However, the reason for Wednesday’s delay was a first for him.

“They came over the PA and said that there was going to be a delay, because the flight attendant had lost her cell phone, and she thought that it was at the hotel," Bors said. "Everybody was just kind of almost chuckling. It's, like, well, if I left my cell phone, they certainly wouldn't wait for me.”

But after awhile, Bors said the amusement flew away.

“They never bothered to explain it to us, and I think what most people were looking for was just an explanation," he said.

This is the explanation United provided to KHOU 11 News:

“United flight 1789 traveling from Calgary to Houston experienced a slight delay due to the crew needing to print out paperwork normally accessible on mobile devices.”

A United spokeswoman later said the phone in question is referred to as a "link device." It's essentially a smartphone that contains in-flight service details, customer information as well as other personal data. This information has to be printed before the flight departs, which is why the airline says the phone had to be located.

But it's feared the employee’s missing work phone may have caused passengers' missed connections.

“There's probably some people that ended up being a day late getting to their destination. It leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth," Bors said.

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