Indonesian woman gives birth onboard, flight diverted to Mumbai

A Jakarta-bound Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi was diverted to Mumbai after an Indonesian woman delivered a baby on board the Airbus A330 aircraft, the spokesperson of the Mumbai airport said Wednesday.

The woman delivered the baby girl when the aircraft was around 40 minutes away from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) Wednesday morning, the spokesperson said.

"An Etihad flight EY 474 flying on Abu Dhabi-Jakarta route was diverted to Mumbai Airport on October 24 due to an expectant female passenger of Indonesian origin going into labour on board," the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said in a statement.

Airport officials had kept a medical team on stand-by, and it attended the woman immediately after the aircraft landed, it said.

"The MIAL doctors provided necessary medical assistance...the passenger was shifted to Seven Hills (hospital) for further medical intervention," it said.

The flight departed from Mumbai for its destination Jakarta at 9:42 am, it added.

Etihad Airways, in its statement, said that the flight was diverted to Mumbai due to a "medical emergency" and as a result, it will be "two hours delayed arriving into Jakarta".