Delta flight takes 2,000-mile detour after pilot fell ill

A Delta Air Lines flight bound for China was forced to take a 2,000-mile detour and land in Los Angeles after one of its pilots fell ill — adding eight hours to the passengers’ journey.

Delta Air Lines Flight 389 took off from Detroit around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, due in Shanghai 16 hours later.

But the Airbus A350-900 was thrown completely off course when a pilot got sick.

The plane, five hours into the trip, was just south of Alaska when the crew decided to divert to Delta’s hub in Los Angeles — a three-hour flight south and west.

While Los Angeles isn’t the closest airport, its service as a key station in the West Coast made it easier to find a replacement for the sick pilot, the airline said.

The flight remained stationed at LAX for more than three hours before a replacement was brought on to continue the trip to China, according to FlightAware tracking data.

After the delays, Flight 389 set off at 7 p.m. for a 13-hour trip to Shanghai.

Including the time on the ground, fliers spent more than 24 hours on a journey that usually lasts about 16.

“The flight landed without incident and taxied to the gate,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”

Delta did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for additional comment.

Although it’s a rare occurrence in general, there have been plenty of headlines made after a plane is forced to divert or make an emergency landing after a pilot falls sick in the cockpit.

Last year, a Southwest Airlines captain fell sick during a flight from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio, forcing a passenger who just so happened to be a pilot to step up and assist the copilot.

In 2022, a passenger with no flying experience was able to land a small plane in Florida after his pilot suffered a medical emergency.