Passenger gives birth in back row of seats onboard Lion Air flight

‘Both she and the baby are healthy,’ says spokesperson

The event took place onboard a Lion Air flight

A passenger gave birth mid-flight on a recent Lion Air service.

Anastasia Geavani was travelling from Jayapura in Papua to Makassar in South Sulawesi, both in Indonesia, on 18 November when she started to feel unwell.  

“About 50 minutes after taking off, the person accompanying [Anastasia] asked the cabin crew for warm water because she was in pain,“ a Lion Air spokesperson told the Jakarta Post.

The flight attendants quickly realised Ms Geavani was in labour and asked over the intercom whether there were any doctors onboard the aircraft.

Doctor Marthina Setiawati Randabunga stepped forward and presented her credentials, before helping Ms Geavani give birth mid-flight.

“The passenger gave birth in the back row of seats,” said the spokesperson. “She had a normal birth. Both she and the baby are healthy.”

After the safe delivery of the child, the pilot took the decision to land at the nearest airport, Pattimura International Airport on Ambon Island.

The plane was met by ground crew and the airport’s medical team, who transported mother and baby to hospital.

The flight then carried on to its final destination in Indonesia as planned, arriving at 5.15pm local time.

It’s far from the first time a woman has gone into labour while flying.

Just last month, a passenger gave birth at 30,000ft while flying from Delhi to Bengaluru in India.

The baby was born on IndiGo flight 6E 122, the airline confirmed in a statement.

“We confirm that a baby boy was delivered prematurely on flight 6E 122 from Delhi to Bangalore. There are no further details available,” a spokesperson for the carrier told the Hindustan Times.

Mother and infant were well taken care of according to a fellow traveller on the flight.

“Was on @IndiGo6E 6E 122 flight to BLR, woman gives birth mid-indiair, amazing team work of indigo flight attendants,” tweeted Prabhu Stavarmath.