How a Crew Reacted When a Woman Gave Birth on a Trans-Pacific China Airlines Flight
"What is she doing flying?" one fellow passenger recalled thinking.
— -- It’s being hailed as a miracle at 30,000 feet.
A Taiwanese woman on board a Los Angeles-bound China Airlines flight unexpectedly gave birth to a bouncing baby girl last week.
The pregnant woman told the cabin crew her water had broken six hours into the 19-hour flight across the Pacific, the airline told the China Post. Crew members immediately requested assistance from passengers -- and a doctor who happened to be on board -- delivered the baby girl on Thursday.
In a video posted by passenger Amira Rajput, flight attendants are seen holding the newborn in blankets, wiping the baby with napkins and giggling with joy. Passengers can be heard clapping and cheering.
"The woman is tough as nails," Rajput told ABC News today, noting that to keep from screaming, the woman bit down on blankets.
“It was super chill,” Rajput said. “People were super quiet and calm so that this woman could have a stress-free experience.”
The CAL pilot informed the company of the situation and requested permission to land at the nearest airport -- Anchorage, Alaska -- out of an abundance of caution, the China Post reported.
Rajput told ABC News that a border patrol agent came into the plane once they landed, and asked to see the woman’s passport.
“He told me that this is something foreign women do, to try and deliver overseas for citizenship,” Rajput said. “This is a political issue. People die to come to this country.”
After the plane landed, the woman and baby were taken to a local hospital and the mother and newborn are in good condition, according to the China Post. The plane was then refueled and continued its journey to Los Angeles, arriving three hours behind schedule.
Rajput said she first spotted the pregnant woman before the birth in a bathroom at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
“She was huge. I thought, 'What is she doing flying?’” Rajput said.
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