Baby on board! Saudi mother gives birth mid-flight

A Saudi woman who was seven months into her pregnancy gave birth during her flight to New York on Thursday.

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

16 Jun, 2016

The unexpected labour forced the pilot to declare an emergency landing in Heathrow [AFP]

A Saudi Arabian flight heading towards New York was surprised with one extra passenger when a women gave birth on the flight on Thursday.

The Boeing 777 from Jeddah was diverted to London due to a medical emergency - a new born baby that was later seen being held by members of the cabin crew in images that went viral online.

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The mother - who boarded the flight in Jeddah during her seventh month of the pregnancy - was allegedly permitted to do so due to a medical report.

The flight was seven and a half hours into its journey when the emergency situation was declared, forcing the pilot to head back towards London's Heathrow airport after having already passed it.

A Saudi Arabian Airlines officer confirmed "a happy event forced the Jeddah-New York plane to land in London".

"Both the mother and the baby girl are doing fine," said Abdul Rahman Al Fahad.

The incident was repeated earlier this year when a mother unexpectedly went into labour on a journey towards Singapore in April.

The mother gave birth to a healthy baby boy who she called Jet Star, in honour of the airline.