A newborn baby will get an early taste of what it’s like to navigate the fine print in airline agreements. A woman gave birth on an EgyptAir flight from Cairo to London last week, and the company says her child will receive free flights for life.
The airline tweeted a statement explaining that a woman from Yemen gave birth on Wednesday, September 16, while travelling on a flight from Cairo to London. The woman, Hiyam Nasr Naji Daaban, reportedly went into labour mid-flight, prompting the pilot to initiate an emergency landing while in German airspace. But this child was in a hurry to reach their personal destination and was safely delivered before the flight could touch down in Munich.
هنيء الطيار رشدي زكريا رئيس مجلس إدارة الشركة القابضة لمصرللطيران الراكبة هيام نصر ناجي دعبان يمنية الجنسية علي سلامتها ومنح مولودتها تذكرة سفر مجانية مدي الحياة والتي أنجبتها علي متن الطائرة أثناء رحلة مصرللطيران المتجهة أمس من القاهرة إلي لندن. pic.twitter.com/WDLsBFePDW
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) September 17, 2020
Egyptair said in the statement that the newborn will receive “a free lifetime travel ticket.” But in a later tweet, the airline relayed congratulations from the pilot who was pleased to present the child with a free ticket for life on Munich flights. It’s unclear if the baby birth bonus will only apply to flights heading to Munich or if it’ll be a lifetime pass for any route that EgyptAir flies. We’ve reached out to EgyptAir for more details and to clarify exactly how the ticket will work but did not receive an immediate response.
Considering the fact that the mother wasn’t even on her way to Munich, limiting the ticket to travelling to the German city wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. And god knows what other restrictions are placed on the lifetime pass. Regardless, it’s one more plane ticket than most of us have when we enter the world.
To the lucky child: If EgyptAir tries to screw you over, our inbox is open.