Filipina gives birth on PAL Dubai – Manila repatriation flight

A woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy on a plane that was flying over 30,000 feet in the air.

According to Philippine Airlines (PAL), the birth took place on board PR 659 bound for Manila from Dubai last June 6, 2020.

Crew member Dino Antigua Karganilla shared photos on Facebook showing the mom and PAL cabin crew wearing personal protective equipment.

It was a “miracle in this pandemic & uncertainty,” Karganilla said in his Facebook post.

“It was a special Repatriation flight, our first to Dubai, that my fellow crew and I volunteered to take and fly our OFW kababayans back home, Flight PR659 Dubai to Manila. But who would have thought we delivered a baby into this world at 38,000 ft above ground! Halong takot, kaba, tuwa, at iyak ang naramdaman namin lahat. God is good God is Great!!” he added.

Karganilla also revealed that the baby was named “Ali” which is derived from the Arabic root “high,” “elevated” or “champion.”

According to PAL, “BuongPusongAlaga, focus and teamwork” was the cabin crew’s winning formula in successfully delivering Baby Ali.

The able leadership of Flight Purser Leilani Daisy Castellano, and the teamwork with FA Joan Rivera, FA Maria Josefina Lobo, FA Maria Cordis Carlyle Yuchongco, FA Marie Rose Coronel, FA Nancy Montinola, FS Dino Karganilla, FS Jose Madarang, Jr., FS Ronniel James Mendoza and FS Warren Santiago led to a successful birth.

The inflight birth had the full support of Capt. Mark Palomares, FO Herky Vitug and SO Fidel Guzman Ala, who secured further guidance from a medical doctor via an SAT-phone and relayed the information to Purser Daisy and the team.

A job well done indeed! Welcome to earth, Baby Ali!

There were at least 25 pregnant passengers in the flight, according to the airline official.

The PAL official said the chartered flight (PR659), which carried 294 returning Filipinos, left Dubai at 9pm (UAE time) on Friday and was supposed to land in Manila at 10am (Philippine time) on Saturday but had to be diverted to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok because of the medical emergency.

The PAL plane and its remaining 293 passengers, meanwhile, arrived in Manila on Saturday midday.

This article originally appeared on: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/hashtag/content/741677/pal-crew-helps-mom-deliver-baby-on-flight-from-dubai