A Southwest Airlines flight made a detour to drop off a flight attendant needed on another plane

• A Southwest flight from Texas to Missouri made an unscheduled stop in Kansas.
• The detour allowed a cabin crew needed on another flight to get off, the airline told View From the Wing.
• Despite the unexpected detour the flight arrived in Missouri less than an hour late.

A Southwest Airlines flight made an extra stop in a different state so a flight attendant needed on another plane could be dropped off.

The Friday morning flight was scheduled to take passengers directly from Dallas Love Field, Texas, to Kansas City International Airport, Missouri.

But data from tracking site FlightAware shows the Boeing 737 stopped off at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas on the way. It then landed in Kansas City less than an hour behind schedule.

Southwest told View From the Wing, an aviation site, that it "had to fill a one-person staffing hole" in Wichita so that a flight could take off. The airline did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further details.

A passenger on the flight told View From the Wing that passengers were only told of the stop just before boarding. The pilot apologized and said that he'd never experienced such a situation, they added.

Flying a pilot or cabin crew to another airport so they can work a flight is known as "deadheading." This happens, for example, if a flight attendant calls in sick at the last minute and a replacement must be found to comply with aircraft staffing rules.

The first Southwest flight to land at Wichita each day is one from St Louis, Missouri, due at noon. The rerouted flight from Dallas arrived more than three hours before this, making it a better option.