Girl takes birth in flight: Question over her nationality

, Feb 8: A Filipino woman on Thursday gave birth to a girl child in an Emirates

from Dubai to

, according to a news published in Bengali daily

. The plane made an emergency landing at Kolkata so that the mother and her child could be given medical treatment. They were admitted to a city hospital and were reportedly in good health.

But the bigger question is: What will be the nationality of the newborn since she took birth on air?

According to the report, the Kolkata airport authorities said the girl was born in the air of Bangladesh while her mother is a citizen of Philippines. Hence it was a difficult judgment to make as to which nationality she would have.

What are the experts saying? According to Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and also a professor of Political Science: "According to international law, the child would get the citizenship of her parents. However, after attaining adulthood, she can apply for the citizenship of the country to which the plane belongs (in this case the United Arab Emirates). But the fact that she took birth in the sky of Bangladesh could also mean that the airliner demand her to be a citizen of that country," the report quoted him saying.

The 30-year-old woman, Kamko Vedamas, boarded the flight from Dubai I. The 28-week-pregnant woman started having labour pain in the mid-air and she was assisted by a doctor, who was also travelling in the same plane.

The pilot then sought permission from the Kolkata airport authorities for an emergency landing for medical help and after landing at 10.30 am, Vedamas was taken to a hospital with special permission since she did not have the Indian visa. The plane left the duo in Kolkata around 12 noon.

The hospital authorities were concerned about the duo for they does not have any information about her. The airline sources said that a relative of the woman would arrive in Kolkata soon to give details of her identity. The newborn was kept in the special newborn care unit.

However, another question that doing the rounds was: How the 28-week-pregnant woman was allowed to board a flight when norms don't allow even 20-week-old pregnancy on board.

OneIndia News