Can scrambled planes choose not to return to the territory they scrambled from? (Assuming there’s place for them on friendly carriers in the seazone they scrambled to)
No, as long as the territory they have scrambled from has not been taken by the enemy, the planes have to return there:
@rulebook:
After all combat is completed, each surviving scrambled air unit must return to the territory from which it was scrambled. If
the enemy has captured that territory, the unit can move 1 space to land in a friendly territory or on a friendly aircraft carrier.
If no such landing space is available, the unit is lost. Surviving scrambled air units land during that turn’s Noncombat Move
phase, before the attacker makes any movements.
