Passengers on ‘time travelling’ New Year’s Eve flight arrive in the wrong year

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Last week, United Airlines highlighted an exciting opportunity – a flight that would allow passengers to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice.

The flight, UA200, was set to depart Guam at 7.35am local time on 1 January 2024 and arrive in Honolulu at 6:50pm on 31 December 2024.

“You only live once, but you can celebrate New Year’s Eve twice,” United Airlines wrote on X.

Passengers, however, only got one New Year’s Eve party this year: The flight departed Guam at 2pm, landing passengers in Hawaii just a few minutes past midnight, according to tracker FlightRadar24.

“Great idea, too bad it got delayed! I was supposed to be on this flight,” one passenger wrote on X. “Double new year isn’t happening anymore. Maye next year?”

United Airlines responded with rebooking assistance information.

“I’m sure rebooking is exactly what this person wants, unless the next flight travels back in time,” another X user wrote on the thread.

A handful of “time travelling” New Year’s Eve flights happen each year when planes travel across the international date line. Some even happen by chance: In 2017, a plane was set to depart from Auckland at 11.55pm on New Year’s Eve, and land in Honolulu at 9.45am on the same day. However, thanks to a short delay, passengers got to ring in 2018 twice — once on the plane and once in Hawaii.

United Airlines declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.