Woman gives birth on a Southwest Airlines flight

Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Talk about in-flight entertainment. Passengers aboard a Phoenix-bound Southwest Airlines flight were treated to the joy of a live childbirth yesterday when a pregnant woman went into labor minutes after taking off from San Francisco.

While the pilot navigated toward Los Angeles for an emergency landing, a doctor and nurse on board the plane (naturally) enlisted the help of a flight attendant and delivered the healthy baby boy at 10,000ft. Guess you could say the baby landed before the plane did.

Upon touching down at LAX, Los Angeles Fire Department took the mother and newborn to the hospital while the remaining passengers were put on another flight to Phoenix later that morning.


Chloe Pantazi is an editorial assistant on Thrillist's travel team. Yes, that's a British accent. No, she doesn't watch Doctor Who. Follow her on Twitter at @ChloePantazi.