Sparking high drama in the skies, a baby boy was born aboard a Delhi-Bengaluru IndiGo flight on Wednesday evening. Assisted by a lady doctor in the aircraft, the IndiGo crew ensured that the extremely rare in-flight delivery ended on a happy, healthy note for both baby and mother.
The drama unfolded about an hour after the flight, 6E 122, took off from Delhi. When the woman passenger developed labour pain, the flight attendants acted fast to set up a mini-hospital of sorts within minutes, as a passenger Prabhu Stavarmath recalled later.
An announcement followed as per protocol and a lady doctor onboard volunteered to help. Tension gripped the cabin, but at about 6.10 pm, the baby’s cries sparked a euphoric eruption of joy and applause. Passengers thanked the crew and the fortunate presence of the doctor.
The flight attendants, all from Bengaluru, were dubbed ‘heroes on board’. Led by Shradha Chauhan and her team, Anupriya, Tripti and Ankita, the crew was praised for being vigilant and extremely mindful of the entire situation. An IndiGo insider added, “Kudos for such presence of mind and great work.”
An IndiGo pilot told DH that responding to scenarios such as this was part of the rigorous three-month crew training in Gurgaon.
Soon after landing at the Kempegowda International Airport at 7.40 pm, the baby and mother were shifted to a medical facility inside the airport for preliminary checkup. But before that, the entire IndiGo team gathered around the baby and mother, applauding them.
Minutes after news of the mid-air birth broke out, social media was abuzz with a question: Will the baby boy get free lifetime air tickets? IndiGo did not immediately confirm whether the offer was valid, but it was ample material for the Twitterati to get into mirth mode. Out came this tweet: “Hi dear, baby is asking does it include free international flights?” The response was quick from another user: “Hope Indigo doesn’t go bankrupt as Jet or Kingfisher.”
Premature birth
Expectant mothers are not allowed to fly if their pregnancy is over 36 weeks. Although preliminary reports indicated that the boy was a premature baby, an inquiry is likely to be conducted to ascertain what was told to the airline and who was at the boarding gates.