By the time a Wizz Air flight from Jordan to the UK made an emergency landing in Italy, it had one tiny extra passenger on board.
Dr. Hassan Khan, from the UK, has shared his experience of helping a fellow passenger deliver a baby mid-flight while returning home from a vacation over the weekend.
“People were saying it was miraculous. I only realized how significant it was after I had the chance to process it all,” the physician told BBC News.
A photo taken aboard the plane showed a beaming Khan cradling the pint-sized preemie globetrotter in his hands while crouching next to the mom.
Khan, 28, was en route from Amman to London on Saturday, when about two hours into the flight the cabin crew called for a doctor.
Khan, who works at a hospital in Essex, immidiately volunteered his services — and found a seven-month-pregnant passenger in labor lying on the floor outside the cockpit. By then, the woman’s water had broken.
The 38-year-old Jordanian mom-to-be, who was accompanied by her 51-year-old husband, did not speak any English and another passenger had to translate for her.
“She was quite stressed about the whole situation but, through the translator, I managed to reassure her that I do have a bit of experience with newborns,” Khan said.
Khan gave flight attendants a list of all the specialized equipment he needed for the delivery, including a neonatal-sized oxygen mask, a clamp for the umbilical cord and a stethoscope, “none of which they had on a plane, of course,” he said.
Khan ended up ushering the Wizz Air flight’s youngest passenger into the world with nothing but a few towels.
The baby girl came out “a little bit blue,” but Khan said his experience in neonatal resuscitation helped him revive her.
The plane carrying 235 passengers was then diverted to Brindisi Airport in southern Italy so the mother and her newborn could be taken to a hospital.
“I was actually late to my shift because of this diversion, but thankfully they were very impressed and wanted the full update,” said Khan. “My consultant congratulated me and said it was a really good job.”
Officials at the Perrino Hospital in Brindisi told the Italian newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno that the baby girl, who was named Sama, did not even need an incubator, despite having been born prematurely at just seven months.
Khan said last he heard, the mom and baby were in a good condition.
“It was a big sigh of relief, some positive closure to the whole situation,” he added.