Woman gives birth to baby boy on flight from Spain to Romania

MADRID (AFP) - A passenger went into labour during a Wizz Air flight from Valencia in Spain to Bucharest and gave birth to a boy inside the aircraft just after it landed in the Romanian capital, the airline said on Wednesday.

The woman requested assistance from the crew minutes before it was due to land on Tuesday at Bucharest's Otopeni airport, Romania's busiest, Eastern Europe's largest budget airline said in a statement.

"During descent and while taxiing to the terminal, the passenger was assisted on a back row of the aircraft by a crew member and a doctor who was travelling on the same flight," it said.

"Mother and newborn baby were met by the airport ambulance and taken to hospital. We are very proud of our crew who handled the situation with professionalism and care."

The airline did not specify the passenger's nationality or age.

"While this mother and her newborn baby seem well, we urge all our pregnant mothers not to risk their well-being and not to conceal their pregnancy," it added.

Passengers must produce a certificate from a doctor if they are travelling after their 28th week of pregnancy, and cannot travel after their 34th week of pregnancy, the airline said.

In August, a 39-year-old Moroccan woman on a Royal Air Maroc flight between Casablanca and the Italian city of Bologna gave birth moments before the plane made an emergency landing at Barcelona's El Prat airport.

Budapest-based Wizz Air flies more than 280 routes across Europe and has a fleet of 45 Airbus planes.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.