An Air India flight travelling from London to Kochi was diverted to Frankfurt on Tuesday, October 5, after a pregnant passenger onboard went into labour and delivered her baby in the flight. According to the Times of India, the woman went into labour soon after the flight took off from London at 1.21 pm (6.51 pm IST). Luckily, there were two doctors and four nurses who were also travelling on the same flight and helped the woman deliver the baby, along with the cabin crew. The plane was over the Black Sea at the time of delivery.
As it was a medical emergency, the flight was rerouted to Frankfurt, the closest airport, so that care could be provided to the newborn baby and the mother.
A reporter from Business Standard quoted Air India as saying, “A team of two doctors and four nurses helped in delivery. All onboard equipment was used like first aid and physician kits. The baby and mother who was 7 seven month pregnant are fine. Woman, newborn and a person travelling with them are alighting at Frankfurt.”
Baby delivered on board.
— aneesh phadnis (@aneeshp) October 5, 2021
Air India Boeing 787 on London Kochi route does a turnback after flying all way to Bulgaria. https://t.co/5KIhZwct35
The flight landed in Frankfurt at 11 pm IST. It was carrying over 210 passengers — 193 economy passengers and 11 business class passengers.
“The human face of Air India was evident once more, as a passenger flying from Kochi to London went into labour mid-air. Our experienced cabin crew swung into action and, identifying doctors on board, sought their assistance to deliver the child,” an Air India spokesperson was quoted as saying by Times of India.
In a similar incident, earlier in August, a baby girl was born onboard a US C-17 military evacuation aircraft, which was leaving from Afghanistan after the US decided to withdraw its troops from the region. The baby was delivered in the cargo bay of the aircraft. Her parents, who were fleeing Afghanistan, had named the baby Reach after the name of the plane’s sign.