United Airlines 'sorry' after accidentally flying passenger 4800km in wrong direction

United Airlines has again been forced to apologise after it accidentally flew a French passenger 4800 kilometres in the wrong direction.

Lucie Bahetoukilae, who does not speak English, was scheduled to fly from Paris to Newark on April 24, but was shocked when the plane landed in San Francisco.

The mix-up reportedly occurred after United Airlines failed to notify Ms Bahetoukilae of a last-minute gate change and allowed her to board the incorrect flight.

Once aboard the plane, she headed to her seat, 22C, but noticed that someone was already sitting there.

The flight attendant then looked at her boarding pass, which said Newark to Charles de Gaulle, and instead of questioning it sat her somewhere else on the San Francisco bound flight.

Ms Bahetoukilae said United Airlines did not email her about the gate change and did not make an announcement in French at the airport.

Once she had landed in San Francisco, she was forced to endure an 11-hour layover before being rerouted home.  

"This is not about money, this is about United getting serious with their employees," her niece Diane Miantsoko told ABC7.

United Airlines has since offered an apology to Ms Bahetoukilae and said they are working with their team to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

It comes just weeks after the airline suffered a massive public relations disaster after a doctor was violently dragged off an overbooked flight.

On April 19, a three-foot rabbit died on a United flight from London to Chicago. The airline has settled lawsuits in all three cases.