TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Mile-high maternity: Woman gives birth aboard Lion Air flight
Change Size
A Lion Air plane traveling from Jayapura, Papua, to Makassar, South Sulawesi, made a brief stop at Pattimura International Airport in Ambon, South Maluku, on Wednesday after a passenger gave birth. (Shutterstock.com/Aumphotography )
A
Lion Air plane traveling from Jayapura, Papua, to Makassar, South Sulawesi, made a brief stop at Pattimura International Airport in Ambon, South Maluku, on Wednesday after a passenger gave birth.
Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro said the passenger was Anastasia Geavani from Jayapura.
The plane took off from Sentani International Airport at 1:35 p.m. local time, he said.
“About 50 minutes after taking off, the person accompanying [Anastasia] asked the cabin crew for warm water because she was in pain," Danang said on Wednesday.
Senior flight attendant Novitalia and other crew members came to assist Anastasia.
Realizing the woman was about to give birth, Novitalia asked via the intercom if any doctors were aboard.
A doctor named Marthina Setiawati Randabunga volunteered to help and showed her credentials.
“The passenger gave birth in the back row of seats. She had a normal birth. Both she and the baby are healthy," Danang said.
Soon after the delivery, the plane’s pilot, Eirstanto Prabowo, and copilot, Tanto Adi Prasetyo, chose to land at the nearest airport, Pattimura International Airport in Ambon, following a discussion with the doctor and cabin crew.
The plane landed in Ambon at around 3:49 p.m. local time. The Lion Air ground crew and the airport medical team brought the mother and baby to Dr. M. Haulussy Kudamati Ammbon Regional General Hospital (RSUD) for further treatment.
The plane resumed its journey from Ambon at 4:30 p.m. and arrived at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport at 5.15 p.m. local time.
Danang said cabin crew members had been trained to handle all sorts of emergencies, such as smoke, bomb threats and unexpected medical conditions, including births. He congratulated the crew for handling the case smoothly.
