A Brussels Airlines flight from Dakar to Brussels gave new meaning to ‘baby on board’ because this one wasn’t at takeoff. A little while later, though, a passenger identified as Ndeye began experiencing severe abdominal pain and went into labor. Flight attendant Jennifer Joie asked passengers with medical experience to identified themselves, and a 22-year old new nurse named Lore stepped up. So did a doctor on the flight.

The three escorted Ndeye to the galley, began timing contractions, and guided her through breathing exercises. Her water broke. Then baby Fanta was born on the Airbus A330. As soon as the newborn’s first cry filled the cabin, the doctor confirmed that Fanta was healthy. With Ndeye was unable to care for her child immediately, the flight attendant Jennifer cradled them.

Brussels Airlines declared on social media, “Welcome Fanta, we hope to see you on board with us one day.” So the passenger wasn’t banned for flying so close to delivery (you’re usually not allowed to fly past 36 weeks of pregnancy).

According to the flight attendant who assisted,

I still don’t quite realize what happened. Helping deliver a baby was something I’d only ever imagined. In another life, I might have been a midwife.

At the end of Up In The Air, George Clooney may tell Sam Elliott, as the chief pilot of American Airlines, that he’s “from here” when he hits 10 million miles inflight. This baby’s birth certificate will reflect their actual place of birth.

Citizenship laws vary somewhat by country in situations like this. Here’s how it works under U.S. law (which is not the case here):

• If a baby is born in the sky above the United States, it is entitled to U.S. citizenship even if the baby has foreign parents and the aircraft is registered in a foreign country. So German parents, on a Lufthansa plane, where the mother gives birth above Massachusetts would see their child entitled to U.S. citizenship, in addition to German citizenship.

• If a baby is born while the aircraft is over water, and the citizenship of its parents can’t be determined or – as occasionally happens – the parents are stateless, then it is generally entitled to the nationality of the aircraft. So a baby born on an American Airlines flight over international water to a stateless mother would be a U.S. citizen, because American Airlines aircraft are registered in the United States.

Nearly one hundred babies have been born on planes since the dawn of commercial aviation. Several years ago a woman gave birth on a Saudia flight to New York. They declared an emergency just as they were about to head out over the Atlantic Ocean, dumped fuel, and turned around heading for London Heathrow. The baby and her family were given a free trip.

A woman also gave birth on Jetstar Asia. She named the baby after the airline, and they gave her $1000 in baby supplies. Meanwhile a baby born on a Cebu Pacific flight was given 1 million frequent flyer miles. And a baby born was born on a Jazeera Airways flight — and was given 18 years of free flights.