Flight crew, passengers team up to help deliver baby in the skies

Nafi Diaby, who was 28 weeks pregnant and travelling on a flight from Conakry to Istanbul, gave birth to baby Kadiju at 42,000 feet.

Labour pains are scary enough.

Cabin crew of the Turkish Airlines flight with baby Kadiju (Turkish Airlines)

But imagine if they hit you at the worst possible moment — 42,000 feet above the ground, trapped in a metal box speeding through the air, with no doctor to help and no hospital bed to find comfort in.

That was the ordeal faced by expectant mom Nafi Diaby, who was 28 weeks pregnant and travelling on a flight from Guinea’s capital Conakry to Istanbul via Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, when her baby girl decided it was time to enter the world, according to a BBC report.

Fortunately for her, she was surrounded by heroes.

The cabin crew and others passengers of her Turkish Airlines flight leapt into action, and helped Diaby give birth to her daughter.

A delighted flight attendant welcomes the extra passenger.

“The mother gave birth while standing, and we received help from several other passengers,” Bouthayna Inanır, one of the flight attendants, was quoted as saying by The Sun.

How could such a momentous event not be celebrated? Turkish Airlines later tweeted pictures of the beaming cabin crew - as well as the captain - posing with little Kadiju, with the caption, “Welcome on board Princess! Applause goes to our cabin crew!”

Both mother and baby were received by ambulance at the Ouagadougou airport and are reported to be in good health.