Mumbai: A premature baby boy was born early on Sunday on a Jet Airways international flight that was flying from Dammam in Saudi Arabia to Kochi. The flight was diverted to Mumbai minutes after a female passenger travelling onboard the flight went into premature labour. Being the first baby to be born in-flight for the airline, Jet Airways has offered him a free lifetime pass for all his travels.
After the baby was delivered, the flight landed in Mumbai and both the mother and the newborn were rushed to a hospital, where they were declared safe. The aircraft then continued on its journey to Kochi and reached its destination at 12:45 pm.
A Jet Airways official confirmed the birth of the baby boy, saying, “The Boeing 737 with 162 guests was diverted to Mumbai as one of the guests went into premature labour. The guest delivered the baby boy at a height of 35,000 ft. Jet Airways has informed the family of the guest who are now en route from Kochi. The airline commends its crew for their response and promptness that saw them successfully translate their training into a life saving action.”
The flight 9W 569 that takes off from Dammam at 2.55am took off as per scheduled and would have landed in Kochi at around 10.15am on Sunday. However, since it was diverted to Mumbai, it reached Kochi after a delay of 90 minutes.
According to the officials, the plane was still over the Arabian Sea when the passenger went into labour. A nurse who was travelling to Kochi along with the crewmembers helped the passenger in delivering the baby. The airline’s crew, comprising of Mohammad Taj Hayath, Deborah Tavares, Isha Jayakar, Sushmita David, Catherine Lepcha and Tejas Chavan provided immediate medical assistance to the guest, along with the trained paramedic on board. The airline then expressed its gratitude to Ms Wilson, the on board paramedic for her guidance in the procedure.
