Luton Airport staff deliver baby in departures lounge

Staff at Luton Airport helped a mother give birth after she went into labour in the airport’s departure lounge.

The mother, who did not speak English, was flying home to Bulgaria when she went into labour. A security officer who spoke Bulgarian acted as a translator.

After a pilot called 999 Melanie Horwood, guest experience manager, led the team that delivered the baby while following advice from Megan Bryne, a call handler with the East of England Ambulance Service.

The two were brought together at a ceremony held at the airport to honour those involved.

Melanie, who has worked at the airport for 37 years, said: “When I arrived, I could see that the lady was in full labour so we moved quickly to bring in screens and contact the ambulance service who advised me exactly what to do.

"We were delighted to deliver a beautiful baby girl and there was a feeling of complete elation afterwards as a huge round of applause broke out across the departure lounge for all the LLA staff involved. It just felt wonderful and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!”

Passenger and midwife Michelle Skehan assisted as she waited to board a flight to Ireland. She explained: “I was pleased to assist in her delivery but a huge amount of credit is due to the staff in the airport. They were so calm and helped maintain the woman's privacy. The teamwork that I witnessed in the ‘delivery room’ was phenomenal and everyone should be so proud of themselves. It's definitely a birth I will always remember.”

Some passengers and staff broke into applause once it was clear the baby had arrived safely. The baby birl was wrapped in a blanket from a shop in the terminal after being born at around 8am on August 27.

Alex Moldovan, a guest experience ambassador at the airport, held the mother's hand through the whole experience.

She said: "When I saw the baby, it was crying, and I wanted to cry as well as it was so emotional".

Paramedics took the mum and baby to hospital to be checked over, and both were healthy and later discharged from hospital The mother and baby have since returned home.