A woman gave birth to a baby on board a flight to Rome after going into labor early, 34,000 feet above the ground. The crew and passengers on ITA Airways flight AZ855 jumped into action when a passenger began to give birth. The Airbus A321 jet was traveling from Dakar, Senegal, to Italy’s capital Rome on Wednesday when things took a surprising turn.
An hour after takeoff, the alarm was raised that the seven-month pregnant woman was about to deliver her baby. She appears to have been moved to a more private section of the plane away from other passengers while the crew called for any medical professionals to step forward. Luckily for the mother and baby, a doctor and a nurse were on board.
ITA Airways posted about the once-in-a-lifetime event on social media, saying this is the first baby born on the carrier’s aircraft ever. The airline said in a caption posted in Italian: ‘A pleasant and unexpected event made ITA Airways’ day. On flight AZ855 that departed from Dakar last night and headed to Rome Fiumicino, an hour after takeoff a seven-month pregnant woman gave birth to a baby prematurely. The mother and the baby received immediate assistance from the crew, who demonstrated great professionalism, and two passengers, a doctor and a nurse, to whom the company deserves the most sincere thanks. The baby, in perfect health, is the first baby born on board an aircraft in ITA Airways history, wishing the baby a wonderful life full of joy.’
It appears the plane was traveling between Western Sahara and Mauritania when pilots made a sharp U-turn, according to the plane tracking website Flightradar24. The plane touched down back in Dakar Blaise Diagne International Airport at about 2:30 AM local time. The same Airbus plane appears to have taken off from Dakar again shortly before 4 AM, arriving at Rome Fiumicino airport just before 9 AM.
Last month, a woman gave birth on a flight to John F Kennedy Airport in the US. It sparked a debate about the infant’s nationality as the US has traditionally recognized birthright for babies born in American airspace or soil.
