Baby born mid air; flight makes emergency landing in Hyderabad

​New Delhi: A woman gave birth to a premature but healthy baby girl mid-flight while travelling from the United Arab Emirates to the Philippines, forcing the plane to take an emergency landing in Hyderabad.

The mother, whose due date was two months away, went into labour on board the Cebu Pacific Air flight on Sunday as it flew from Dubai to Manila, her fellow passenger Missy Berberabe Umandal posted on Facebook.

Panicked flight attendants started calling out for medical assistance -- discovering two nurses among the passengers -- before turning the front of the cabin into a makeshift delivery room.

“We only heard one semi-loud screech, and a few seconds later, there were tinier, cute screeches, and it was when we knew the baby was born. Luckily, she only had to push ONCE,” Umandal said in her post, with a picture showing the mother holding her newborn, wrapped in a blanket. The mother's nationality is not known.

Flight attendants and nurses cleaned the baby and dressed her in clothes donated by fellow passengers flying with infants.

The pilot conducted an emergency landing in Hyderabad so the mother and newborn could receive medical attention before continuing on to Manila. “After initial examination, they were moved to the mother and child care centre of a hospital in the city," anairport security official said.