A woman gave birth to a baby girl in mid-flight this Friday, April 24th, as her plane was scheduled to land 30 minutes later after a five-hour journey between Atlanta and Portland.
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight gave birth while the aircraft was still about thirty minutes away from its final destination, where it made an emergency landing on Monday, April 27th, the American airline said.
The pregnant woman had boarded the flight on Friday in Atlanta, Georgia, for a little over a five-hour trip to Portland, Oregon, with an expected arrival around 10 p.m. local time.
According to the airline, the baby girl, born while the plane still had about half an hour of flight left, was reported by American media. Photos of the mother and the new baby were shared by the media on Monday.
“We thank the crew and medical volunteers on board who assisted in providing care to a passenger before landing in Portland,” Delta said in a statement on Monday, wishing “all the best to the new family.”
Trained crews and professional passengers
Flight crew members helped the passenger, as well as a doctor and two nurses who were all part of the 153 passengers on Flight DL478.
The plane also carried two pilots and four flight attendants, who receive training to handle this kind of situation.
Emergency services on the ground were waiting after the landing, which went smoothly and was handled as a priority by the control tower.
Some airlines sometimes impose restrictions on pregnancies, refusing to board passengers within a certain period before the expected due date and/or requiring a medical certificate. According to its website, Delta does not enforce these two limitations.
