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, Jazeera Airways 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.
