How this baby won free birthday flights for his entire life

When an expectant mother went into labour on a Spirit Airlines flight, an emergency landing was not quick enough.

At 36 weeks pregnant, passenger Cristina Penton became worried when she began to feel unwell on flight 971 from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas/Fort Worth, Spirit said in a statement yesterday.

Flight attendants diverted the flight to a New Orleans airport and summoned doctors to meet the plane.

However, baby Cristoph could not wait for the plane to land. 

Flight attendants turned to passengers for help, and a paediatrician and nurse came forward.

"Everything started happening very quickly… it was clear I was having my baby, and I was in pure panic," Ms Penton said.

Fellow passenger Shelley Hedgecock Starks said she began filming at Ms Penton's request.

"I was sitting behind the lady that just gave birth … so special, so sweet," she wrote on Facebook.

Once the plane landed, mother and baby were taken to Louisiana's Ochsner Medical Center and are both doing well, Spirit said.

Yesterday, Spirit representatives visited Ms Penton and Christoph, and gifted him with free birthday flights for life for himself and a guest. 

Spirit spokesman Paul Berry said flight attendants were trained to handle medical emergencies.

"A baby being born during a flight is very rare … but our flight attendants are trained and have access to doctors on the ground via inflight communication," he said.