Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A PASSENGER ON a Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca, Morocco, to Bologna, Italy, gave birth to a boy mid-air.
The official Moroccan news agency MAP says that the 39-year-old woman went into labour shortly after take-off on Sunday.
The flight was diverted to Barcelona, and the baby was born just before landing.
The airline didn’t specify the passenger’s nationality. It said crew members and a midwife, who happened to be on the plane, helped with the delivery.
Mother and child were taken to Sant Joan de Deu hospital in Barcelona and are in good health, the airline says. The flight continued on to Bologna around 50 minutes after landing in Barcelona.
- AP
err, don’t doctors recommend against flying early and later on in the pregnancy?
maybe I’m wrong on this one.
They definitely do!
I thought do too Barry!
*so*
Could be the case that she went very prematurely? Hopefully baby will be all good.
No restrictions on flying early in the pregnancy
Jason, they don’t want women flying in the late stages of pregnancy because of emergency situations like this. Airlines aren’t worried about what sort of citizenship a baby gets. And you can’t tell a woman you believe she’s pregnant just because she looks pregnant, otherwise there would be a lot of insulted fat women boarding flights every day.
ha ha……the last thing you want to ask a woman and get wrong is “So when are you due?”…….*silence*….”I’m not pregnant!”………….
Interesting argument over place of birth ??!!!
I think the child was born on a plane, however it’s nationality is not as straight forward
So you put hospital bed for your place if birth ? Would love to see your passport …
The child will, most likely, acquire his/hers parents’ nationality. AFAIK in Europe your nationality is not affected by the country you were born in, but by the nationality your parents hold at the time of your birth (Although a child born to parents w/ a permanent residency visa can acquire the nationality from the country he/she was born in).
Hospital bed, how very posh, my mother was out picking stones when she drop me.
Because the plane was Moroccan, the birth is considered as having taken place in Morocco, regardless of where the plane was headed, where it was diverted to, or whose airspace it was in at the time.
That would be the case if it was a ship, for instance all ryanair planes are Irish but under Irish law being born in Ireland doesn’t automatically make you an Irish citizen.
International laws govern this issue. The baby’s place of birth is where that plane is registered, in this case I think Morocco. Nationality/citizenship is a different story, the parents nationality is taken into account here and the baby would ‘inherit’ its parents nationality/citizenship.
***generic cost of this on Ryanair joke***
Ryanair would charge for an extra passenger upon landing
Last minute fair €395
he will be able to tell his friends he came into the world at 400 mph, that’ll cause a few head scraches
lol
What’s the definition of honesty?
A pregnant Ryanair passenger paying for two.
And the definition of scabbiness?
Michael O’Leary charging for 3 in case she’s carrying twins
No, scab bigness is Ryanair charging €50 for a bag to go into the hold.
Glad mum and baby are OK.
I thought you can’t fly in your third trimester …
Not true
As a secondary school teacher I was working up until I was 38 weeks pregnant. This included a pre-planned school trip to a space centre outside Brussels with a group of 15/16 year olds for a week when I was 7 months pregnant. I went to my GP to ask for permission to travel and he gave it as I was in perfect health and without reason to believe I would deliver early. The airline (not Ryanair) didn’t ask for any justification either. It’s pregnancy, not an illness or dangerous medical condition and while I do also believe travelling close to the due date is probably not a good idea (and in all fairness, do you really imagine women want to give birth in front of a plane-load of other people?) sometimes, I would imagine, circumstances are such that some people may need to travel.
Baby could have been premature and that’s why she was allowed fly.
Doctors *recommend that pregnant women don’t take long flights close to their due dates, it is not forbidden.
Its personal choice as far as I’m aware. Glad mum and baby are doing well.
Baby is Scottish!! Born in Air (Ayr). Geddit!! Ok. I’m gone.
What’s the chances that she was trying to emigrate from Africa into Europe ?
It wouldn’t really matter since her child wouldn’t be European. Some people seem to think that boarding a plane to Europe is enough to grant you leave to remain if you want to, while in reality it is a very bureaucratic and oftentimes impossible process regardless of where you’re from.
The baby is definitely Catalan.
I smell a movie..
What ever happened to not being allowed fly when being pregnant fir the health of the child. Stupid mother but well done
There’s never been a rule on that! Flying is perfectly safe during pregnancy.
Giving birth whilst flying may not be though..
Maria, then why are there no pregnant crew? There are rules regarding flying in the last weeks of pregnancy, the time depends on whether it’s just one baby or multiple babies. But, again, this can only be enforced when a woman states that she is pregnant.
There is a HUGE difference between a heavily pregnant woman taking a long haul trip (holidays/visiting ) and a member of crew who would be WORKING on a plane twice as long ( round trip) multiple times a week.
There are pregnant crew..of course there are.. It’s silly to think otherwise, I would imagine at a certain stage in their pregnancies they switch to ground staff as per their employers terms of service.
No Nina, the minute you find out you’re pregnant you’re instantly put to ground duties only. The only pregnant crew flying are girls who haven’t yet found out they’re pregnant. So it’s not silly to think otherwise! Get a job as cabin crew and get back to me on that. Then you’ll also learn about the regulations regarding flying while pregnant and requiring a doctor’s cert at a certain stage.
Leanne…. So basically everything I said was correct..there ARE pregnant cabin crew and at a certain stage of their pregnancies they are grounded! Most likely when they begin to show unless the chose to tell prior to that.
I understand the need for a doctors note/cert before flying at a certain stage of your pregnancy in case you are likely to go into labour, however it has not been proved unsafe to fly while pregnant though, although there are differing schools of thought on the issue..as with most issues, there are always different opinions and arguments for and against.
But they’re flying against the rules and without knowledge of their pregnancy, so that voids your point. They shouldn’t be flying but can’t help it as they don’t know. And girls don’t hide their pregnancy to fly and then choose to tell. Imagine morning sickness when you’re in work at 5am. It’s a tiring job, you couldn’t stay on your feet 5am to 5pm even without the sickness. And there’s also the exposure to radiation when you fly. Plus, you’re most likely to miscarry before you reach 12weeks so women don’t want to be hiding their pregnancy just to work only to have an emergency on board and no access to a hospital. Pregnant passengers can fly with a doctor’s cert permitting them after 32weeks unless it’s a multiple pregnancy, then the rules are tighter.
hope it had a passport and visa, or itd have to go back in
Just as well it wasn’t Ryanair, they’d be charged at arrivals for the extra passenger! maybe half fare depending on how far into journey child was born.
have your say