KUWAIT CITY: A baby girl born aboard an Egypt-bound Jazeera Airways flight will be able to fly the Kuwait-based airline for free until the age of 18, the carrier said Thursday.
The baby was delivered by a traveling doctor and two cabin crew members en route between Kuwait City and Alexandria, in northern Egypt, after her eight-months pregnant mother unexpectedly went into labor.
I think I am having a baby, Heba Majdy told a crew member at an altitude of 30,000 feet and 50 minutes before the flight was due to reach the Mediterranean city.
Majdy had boarded the Jazeera Airways aircraft for Wednesday s journey with her doctor having declared her fit to fly.
Her baby, named Nancy, was delivered by gynecologist and maternity specialist, Mohammed Al-Saleh, who was a passenger going to Alexandria on vacation.
Saleh and the crew members quickly created a makeshift delivery room in the front of the Airbus A320 cabin, and had to make do with a first aid kit during the delivery.
Twenty minutes later, the flight captain told passengers a baby girl had been born, shortly before he instructed the cheering travelers to fasten their seat belts in preparation for landing.
In Alexandria, a medical team transported the mother and newborn to hospital.
Jazeera Airways chairman Marwan Boodia said later that the no-frills carrier had offered Nancy free flights until she turns 18.
