British airline Virgin Atlantic was founded in 1984, but it wasn’t until March of 2004 that a baby was born on a Virgin flight.
She was born a month early to mother Abimbola Eduwa, who was traveling from Lagos to London. Abimbola went into labor an hour after takeoff, and the baby was born a mere ten minutes later — while the plane was soaring 30,000 feet above the Sahara desert.
The baby girl was named Virginia, after the airline. (As Abimbola’s husband Chris explained, “They said I should call her Virginia, I think we will. We usually pray for a name but Virginia is fine.”)
British billionaire Richard Branson, one of the founders of the airline, offered Virginia free flights until the age of 21. He also cheekily noted, “We have waited 20 years for our first Virgin birth.”
Sources:
- Barnett, Louise. “Branson meets airline’s first mid-air baby.” Irish Examiner 18 Jun. 2004.
- Mair, Lesley. “After 20-year wait, Virgin birth joy 30,000ft over the Sahara.” Irish Independent 22 Mar. 2004.
Image: Adapted from Air Canada Boeing 777-333ER by MarcusObal under CC BY-SA 3.0.
