Pregnant woman had emergency delivery on a plane, so the airline gifted the newborn '1,000,000' reasons to smile
Having a baby at an unexpected moment might cause a little panic for the mom and the people around her. But sometimes, not only the mother and child come out healthy and safe out of the experience, but they also get something special from it. A baby born on an airplane between Dubai and Manila got 1 million air mile points as a gift from the airlines, per CNN. The girl, Haven, had to be delivered on the plane because her mom went into labor at least 5 weeks earlier than her due date.
The woman was flying on a plane operated by Philippine carrier, Cebu Pacific, when she went into labor. Fortunately, there were two nurses among the passengers who helped with the delivery along with the cabin crew. The pilot diverted the plane to land in Hyderabad, India, to ensure that the woman could get necessary medical help after her baby's birth. However, the airline shared that this wasn't exactly the first time they had witnessed something like this on a plane. The CEO, Lance Gokongwei, announced that the baby would be awarded 1 million miles on the GetGo rewards program by the airline as a gift. The points didn't have an expiry date and were allowed to be shared with other members of her family.
"We are happy that both mother and daughter are doing well and would like to commend our flight and cabin crew for handling the situation with utmost professionalism and efficiency," the CEO expressed. He also applauded the assistance given by the volunteer nurses on the flight during the delivery. A passenger on the flight shared the experience of witnessing the incident in a now-deleted Facebook post. The person pointed out how the woman got back to her seat after giving birth as if it were the most normal flight ever for her. "We only heard one semi-loud screech and a few seconds later, there were tinier, cute screeches and it was then that we knew the baby was born," the person wrote.
"Luckily, she only had to push ONCE. Moments later, the woman got up to go back to her seat, baby in arms (mighty strong, I might say)," the passenger highlighted. The baby's delivery and everything else caused a delay in the flight's timings, and it landed around 9 hours later than its usual time. "But no complaints. Everyone in that plane was blessed," the post went on. "It only happens in movies, and we’re lucky to witness this miracle," the passenger remarked, per The Guardian. "There were two other babies with us in the front row and one of the passengers had a suitcase full of infant clothes and necessities, which could not have come at a better time."
The woman had gone into labor around 4 hours into the flight. Mark Martin, lead cabin crew member, explained that two flight attendants on the plane were also trained nurses. "To baby Haven. You are God’s miracle at 36,000 ft and we’re blessed to have been an instrument in your safe delivery. You will always be my most memorable passenger," Martin remarked. A usual customer would have to spend $106,278 to get the same number of points as Haven, per the outlet.