This flight was anything but plain.
A pregnant mother gave birth to a premature but healthy baby girl on Sunday (14th August) while she was onboard Cebu Pacific Air, travelling from Dubai back to the Philippines. One fellow passenger named Missy Berberabe Umandal documented the extraordinary incident on Facebook.
In her post, Umandal explained that the lady, whose due date was 2 months away, started having contractions about 5 hours into the 9 hours flight. “She was set to give birth on October, so this came to a surprise, even to her Mother who picked her up from Dubai,” Umandal wrote.
Upon realising what was happening, flight attendants on duty started calling for medical assistance – 2 nurses onboard acted as midwives – before turning the front of the cabin area 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. Luckily, she only had to push ONCE,” Umandal added. Other passengers also aided the woman by donating infant clothing items for the child to wear after she was bathed in mineral water.
The pilot proceeded to land in Hyderabad, India, so both parent and child could receive medical attention. The mother, her own mother who was travelling with her, and the newborn baby girl were given 3-day temporary visas to recuperate.
The Philippines airline has since released a statement, announcing that this was the first time an infant was delivered on one of its aircrafts. “We’re blessed to have been an instrument in (the) safe delivery,” said lead cabin crew member Mark Martin.
As a result of this happy occasion, Cebu Pacific Air said it was rewarding the baby girl with an early birthday present – a million points in its lifestyle rewards programme, which is basically a lifetime of free flights with the carrier.
Ain’t she a lucky baby?
Sources: Missy Berberabe Umandal’s Facebook, Channel News Asia.
