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Birth on a plane landed on the Côte d’Azur

  • A plane that landed in Nice experienced an unusual event in the form of a birth! The passengers and staff of Tunisair Flight 998 witnessed a scene they will not soon forget, on Friday, 18th August, of a 31-year-old woman who gave birth to her child when the Boeing 737-600 landed on the Côte d’Azur.

Having taken off at 15:15 from the Tunis-Carthage airport, the plane touched down on the Nice tarmac around 17:30.

This unusual event sparked plenty of applause in the plane. The captain and crew immortalised the moment, posing for a picture, smiling, with the baby in their arms. However, was this birth really unexpected? According to the Tunisian press, the future mother, on holiday in Tunis, would have gone on French soil in order to acquire the French nationality for her baby. This is legally far from clear.

This passenger had contractions last minute and gave birth on arrival in Nice. This happened on the plane, but not in flight, said regional director Paca de Tunisair. The mother received the assistance of the crew and a doctor who was on board,” said the spokesman. Everything went well. The ambulance arrived immediately, and the mother and her little boy are doing very well. The baby was taken care of at the L’Archet hospital in Nice, where concerns about her condition could be assuaged.

birth
Photo credit to www.air-journal.fr

This woman was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Everything was done according to the procedure. The company had not received any reports, according to the Tunisair official. The pressure can sometimes trigger this kind of phenomenon – unless her water broke before leaving and she did not tell the airline company The only certainty: this customer bought a one-way trip, a few hours before take-off.

In any case, a birth in flight is extremely rare. This one delighted the witnesses of the happy air-born event. According to Tunisair spokesperson, the company plans to offer the next trip free to the mother with her baby.

The question of the nationality of the child has agitated the Internet. But in France, it is the right of blood that prevails, and therefore the nationality of the parents. For children born in flight, the only applicable text is Article 3 of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness: Births on board a ship or aircraft shall be deemed to have occurred in the territory of the other Contracting State, State whose flag the vessel is flying or in which the aircraft is registered.

So, this birth on a plane in Nice will be subject to these rules, hopefully clearing up any curious readers’ questions!

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