A Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco bound for Phoenix ended up taking a diversion via Los Angeles after the carrier touched down with an extra passenger aboard.
A passenger went into labor shortly after Flight 623 took off and gave birth before landing in Los Angeles where paramedics and emergency services were waiting.
Mother and baby were ‘doing fine’ in a LA-area hospital, thanks to the help of fellow passengers, according to Southwest Airlines spokesperson Emily Samuels.
"Luckily a nurse and doctor were on board," Samuels said.
They assisted flight crew to care for mother and baby, who have not been named.
"We love being able to connect our customers to the important moments in their lives but this isn’t normally what we mean," Samuels remarked.
Samuels said the plane was taken out of service for cleaning and a replacement aircraft flew the remaining 111 passengers on to Phoenix, arriving more than two hours later than scheduled.
"It was amazing, all the passengers were awesome. Everybody was clapping," said Southwest flight attendant Carri Robinson.
