A 36-year-old Filipino woman delivered a baby aboard Dubai-Manila flight, which had to make an emergency landing at Hyderabad airport.
The incident took place on Aug 14 on Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J015, which was passing through Indian airspace while on its way to Manila.
Sources at Hyderabad airport told IANS that the flight had to land because of medical emergency. The flight resumed its journey after the woman and the new born baby girl were shifted to a hospital in the city.
“They were in slightly bad shape when brought to medical centre at the airport because it was a premature delivery,” sources said.
They were later shifted to Apollo Cradle Hospital in the city. According to doctors, the mother is stable but the new-born is suffering from jaundice.
The hospital authorities declined to share name and other details of the woman.
Missy Berberabe Umandal, one of the passengers on the flight, posted on social media that the lady near her seat started having contractions mid-flight.
According to her, it surprised even the woman as the delivery was due in October. Two nurses who were among the passengers came out to help as flight attendants started calling for medical assistance. The more spacious front portion of the plane was turned into a makeshift delivery room.
“We only heard one semi-loud screech, and a few seconds later, there were tinier, cute screeches, and it was when we knew the baby was born,a Umandal posted.
“The flight attendants took a shelf from the cabinets and filled it with mineral water, which became a makeshift wash basin to clean the baby in.a
She also posted a picture of the woman with the baby in her arms. She described the girl as lucky saying she will get free travel for lifetime for being born in a Cebu Pacific flight.
This is the second such incident of a Filipino delivering mid-flight and the plane making emergency landing in Hyderabad in four months.
Grace Alexandria Ahad delivered a baby girl aboard Dubai-Manila flight of Emirates in May. The 40-year-old, a nurse in Dubai, was going to her parents in Manila for the delivery.
The newborn died in a city hospital. Doctors said is it was premature delivery after 28th week and the health of the newborn was also not good.
