Baby boy born mid-air on Jet Airways flight

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 Holy Spirit hospital in Andheri east, where they were declared safe.

The aircraft then continued on its journey to Kochi and reached its destination at 12:45pm.

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 provided immediate medical assistance to the guest, along with the trained paramedic, Ms Wilson on board.

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.”