A fellow passenger told ABC News that she had seen the woman at the airport in Taiwan and had been surprised by her advanced state of pregnancy. However, China Airlines says women who are not yet 32 weeks pregnant are treated as regular passengers. The unnamed pregnant traveler, who was flying alone, had not yet reached the 32-week cutoff point and therefore the airline permitted her to board.
Roughly six hours into the flight, the woman began to go into labor. Flight attendants and a doctor who happened to be on board assisted the woman the best they could.
The captain of the plane, deciding not to take any chances, requested permission to land at the nearest airport — Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport in Alaska. Approximately 30 minutes before touchdown in Anchorage, however, a baby girl was born on the plane.
The new mother and her infant were taken to a hospital for evaluation and both are reportedly doing well. Questions were raised following the birth as to whether or not the woman had intended to fly to the U.S. to give birth and obtain citizenship for her child.
According to sources, however, children born on ships or planes are generally considered a citizen of whatever country the vessel is registered in — in this case the Republic of China, or Taiwan.
Taiwan's English newspaper the China Post however, said that the infant's nationality would be determined by the place of birth written on the child's birth certificate issued by the Anchorage hospital. There is the possibility that the child's birthplace could be listed as "in the air." Births taking place on ships or planes have obviously occurred many times in the past, and the designation of being born "at sea" or "in the air" has been previously used.
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