We're all used to surprises while traveling by air. Delays, too-close-for-comfort-pat-downs, weird terrible smells...but even the most jaded traveler must have been surprised when a woman gave birth aboard a Southwest Airlines flight that took off from San Francisco International Airport Tuesday morning.
KCBS reports that Southwest Flight 623 took off from SFO at 6:24 a.m., headed for Sky Harbor International in Phoenix. But that plan was shattered when shortly after takeoff, a passenger went into labor, Southwest Airlines spokesperson Emily Samuels confirms.
The 111 passengers of the flight were diverted to LAX, KTLA reports, but they couldn't land fast enough: by the time the plane touched down in LA, at 7:38, the baby (gender as yet unstated) was born.
“Luckily a nurse and doctor were on board,” Samuels says. They assisted in the birth, then Los Angeles Fire Department officials took over, caring for the mother and newborn before any passengers exited the plane, LAFD spokesman Erik Scott told KTLA.
The flight's passengers were delayed for about two-and-a-half hours, Samuels said, but “they’ll certainly have a story to tell."
And by all accounts, mother and child are doing well. Both were transported to an LA hospital and are in good condition, and Samuels says that "I can’t comment on their condition because I’m not a medical professional, but it was a pretty exciting day."