13-05-2025
Ryanair flight makes emergency landing after woman gives birth on board
A Ryanair flight gained an unexpected extra passenger last Thursday after a woman gave birth on board.
The flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Castellon, Spain, made a last minute diversion to Limoges, France, after she went into labour.
A quick-thinking Belgium MP, Kathleen Depoorter, sprang into action to help the expectant mother.
She said: 'I saw a woman come out of the bathroom and explain to the stewards that she was feeling unwell.
'When I heard her say that she has been pregnant for 37 weeks, all of my alarms started going off.
'I asked the pilot to make an emergency landing, and he complied.
'Everything went so fast that we had to construct a maternity ward in the back of the plane, and she gave birth there.'
She told the Olive Press delivering the baby was a 'special feeling'.
The lawmaker had studied Pharmacy at university and was travelling with her son Sebastiaan, who is a doctor.
They were helped alongside other medical professionals on the flight to welcome the baby girl into the world.
This included a midwife who managed the delivery of the placenta and a paediatrician who checked the baby's health.
Both infant and mother are doing well and they are being treated in a French hospital.
Ryanair has been contacted for further comment.
While giving birth on a flight is rare, it is not unheard of. More Trending
A woman who had no idea she was pregnant unexpectedly gave birth prematurely at 29 weeks in the middle of a flight from Utah to Hawaii.
Last year, passengers on board a Wizz Air flight from Jordan to London disembarked the aircraft with a brand new traveller: a newborn baby.
Two hours into the flight from Amman to Luton Airport, a woman went into labour, prompting junior doctor Hassan Khan to leap into action.
With the help of Dr Khan and a passenger who spoke Arabic to translate for the unnamed woman, a healthy baby girl was delivered – with the only equipment used being towels.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Crypto boss's daughter and her toddler targeted by gang in attempted kidnapping in Paris
MORE: French film star Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault
MORE: How to get around London without the Tube network
