El Al Flight Diverted After Passenger Gives Birth Mid-Journey

A routine El Al flight from New York to Israel turned into an emergency delivery drama over the weekend, after a pregnant passenger unexpectedly went into labor five weeks early.

The young Jewish couple from New Jersey had received the necessary medical approvals before boarding the flight, according to Chabad.org. But while the plane was in the air, the woman began experiencing active labor, forcing the crew to divert the flight and make an emergency landing in Rome.

After the plane landed in Italy, the mother was rushed to a local hospital, while her husband suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar city, without basic supplies, with much of their luggage still on the plane that continued to Israel.

Passengers and others connected to the flight quickly reached out to Chabad emissaries in Rome, Rabbi Shalom and Chani Chazan, who run the Chabad House in the city’s Monteverde neighborhood.

Once they heard that a Jewish family had been left alone in a foreign hospital during an unexpected birth, the local Jewish community mobilized quickly. The Chazans sent out an urgent message, and community members immediately began sending food, baby clothes and basic supplies for the parents.

Within hours, the good news arrived: the baby girl was born safely, five weeks before her due date.

Chani Chazan said it was moving to see how quickly the community came together to help people they had never met. Families offered meals, lodging, logistical assistance and help navigating the local medical system.

The couple’s relatives from New Jersey are now making their way to Rome to assist them. In the meantime, the local Jewish community is continuing to help the new parents with hospital needs, bureaucracy and the documents required before they can return safely to the United States with their newborn daughter.