A Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to the Philippines’ Manila has witnessed an unexpected mid-air birth after a pregnant Filipino passenger went into labor during the long-haul journey.
According to information from the airline, the flight had departed Istanbul Airport as scheduled when the woman began experiencing intensified contractions while the plane was cruising. Cabin crew immediately provided first aid and issued a call for a doctor on board.
With the coordinated efforts of the doctor and the cabin crew, the passenger successfully delivered her baby while still in flight. Flight attendants later posed for a photo with the mother and baby, marking an unforgettable end to the journey.
Following the birth, the cockpit informed air traffic control in Manila of the situation and requested medical assistance upon landing.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the aircraft touched down at Manila Airport, where paramedics were waiting. The mother and newborn were taken to hospital and both were reported to be in good condition.
The rare incident echoes a story from 1990 that resurfaced on social media last year through a short film produced by Turkish Airlines.
The film recounts the life of Erkan Geldi, who was born during a Turkish Airlines flight from the western province of İzmir to Germany’s Frankfurt and decades later returned to the skies — this time as a cabin crew member.
His birth was assisted by then–cabin chief Sevinç Aykutluğ, who appears in the film and recalls how a flight that departed with 120 passengers landed with 121.
Aykutluğ says she was astonished when Geldi eventually appeared before her as a colleague. She described it as a proud moment: Someone who “took their first breath in the sky” choosing to build a career in aviation.
Geldi, now a Turkish Airlines cabin crew member, says the airline has been central to his life story — even meeting his wife, also a flight attendant, through the job.
“Aviation is in my soul. I built my life at Turkish Airlines,” he says in the film.
The short production, which drew considerable attention on social media, closes with Geldi joking about a common myth: “People say those born on planes are ‘citizens of the world.’ Of course, that’s not true.”
