Philippine Airlines flight makes emergency landing after woman starts giving birth onboard
A woman went into labour on a flight to Manila, prompting an emergency landing in Hyderabad.
The unnamed passenger started giving birth on the flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before the Philippine Airlines pilot made the decision to divert to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport while flying over India.
The plane was met by a team of gynaecologists and paediatricians as soon as it landed, who helped deliver the baby onboard the aircraft.
The umbilical cord had to be left intact as doctors were not allowed to bring the appropriate surgical blade onto the jet “due to security restrictions”, the hospital said in an official statement.
Still attached, mother and baby had to be transported from the airport to Apollo Hospital where they received further treatment.
“The mother and baby have recovered and are ready to return to their homeland,” paediatric neonatologist Dr C Suresh Kumar told The Times of India.
It’s not the first high-flying birth story.
Jetblue gained its youngest ever customer in February 2019 after a baby was born during a flight from Puerto Rico to Florida.
The US airline said it wants to rename the aircraft after the baby following the birth on flight 1954.
The event aptly occurred on a plane named “Born to be Blue”, which flew from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale.
The low-cost carrier confirmed the flight was met by medical personnel, who ensured mum and baby were OK. Video shows medics treating the new mother onboard.
The Independent has asked Philippine Airlines for comment.
