Woman Gives Birth to Baby Girl Named 'Sky' on American Airlines Flight to Charlotte

One woman’s American Airlines flight ended up being a little more special than usual this week.

According to USA Today, Nereida Araujo, who was 38 weeks pregnant, was flying from Tampa, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday when her water broke mid-flight. Araujo delivered a healthy baby girl upon landing in Charlotte, aptly named Lizyana Sky Taylor.

Despite being in her third trimester, Araujo was cleared to fly by her doctor before going on her trip, WSOC reported. The flight was only one hour and 39 minutes, and Araujo went into labor towards the end of the flight.

“I was sleeping and I felt like a pop in my lower back,” Araujo told the WSOC. “I just felt like liquid and I woke my husband up.” American Airlines spokesperson Crystal Byrd confirmed to USA Today that the airline “requested medical personnel due to a passenger who needed assistance” in Charlotte.

According to WSOC, the baby was born around 2 p.m., and both the baby and Araujo were taken to the hospital after the delivery.

Araujo thanked the crew and medical personnel in a post on Facebook. “Baby Sky decided to enter the world on a plane. Mommi (sic) handled it well thanks to everybody who assisted us with love & care,” she wrote.

“Want to take the time too thank everybody & the pilot who was flying flight 868 American Airlines & landed me & Baby Sky safe, & too all the medics, most of all the nurse that was on board,” Araujo wrote in another post. “She really made me feel very loved & special. Everything went by so fast.”

While the occasion is pretty rare, other mothers have unexpectedly given birth in the air. Earlier in 2019, a woman delivered a boy on a JetBlue flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airline celebrated the birth by renaming the plane Born to Be Blue. Another baby on Jet Airways in 2017 earned free flights for life after simply being born on a plane.

Note: Some quotes have been edited for clarity.