Subject:  Re: Apeks & English grammar |
Author:
Lim Khoy Hing
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Date Posted: 23:27:15 06/20/09 Sat
Author Host/IP: NoHost/118.100.199.104
In reply to:
NBH
's message, "Re: Apeks & English grammar" on 00:05:45 06/20/09 Sat
>Hi,
>Whilst flying with Air Asia, I read the June issue of
>the in-flight magazine. Capt Lim contributed an
>article entitled "Can Pregnant Mothers Fly ?" Very
>informative, I must say.
>
>In the Apr issue, he wrote on "Of Pressure and
>Flying". Air Asia passengers must be very pleased
>reading his article. One of them responded to the
>magazine saying that Capt Lim's article was
>"enlightening and informative".
>
>Keep it up, Capt. I have flown with Air Asia on
>numerous occasions. This is the first time I come
>across articles written by pilots themselves.I think
>you are very enthusiastic in your work.
>
>Regards to all.
Hi Inspector Kluso,
Yes, I saw you on your return from Bangkok from a distance. You were fully charged up then!
Anyway, to the rest, I am very much alive and kicking…
I did not believe I was going to fly International again after I hit 60 years old but after 63, they are making me to fly the London and Beijing routes on the Airbus A340 soon. In fact my first flight to Stansted (London) will be on the early Tuesday morning on the 23rd of this month. One of the main reasons is that my daughter is there and she is expecting… So I can get to see her more often.
Regarding the articles in the Air Asia in-flight magazine, I have contributed 6 articles so far. Okay, since you do not have a copy of the April issue, you can read my original article “Of Pressures and Flying” below…
Of Pressures and Flying
As airline captains, one of our key objectives on every flight is to depart on time. This is because we have to give written reasons for every single delay. Just like the passengers, we too dislike delays for the above reason.
So, aside from dreadful weather (especially heavy rain), busy air traffic or unfortunate technical reasons, there are times when late departures are caused by passengers themselves – especially when they fail to comply with the international airlines requirements.
For example, on a recent flight, an expectant mother who had somehow avoided detection of her late pregnancy during check-in boarded my flight. She was however quickly discovered by the flight attendant who was aware of flight regulations regarding heavily pregnant women. She immediately consulted me as to what to do. As usual, in such predicaments, it is the captain’s duty to handle the situation.
Airline policy regarding carriage for pregnant women can be summarized as follows:
a. If the pregnancy is below 28th weeks, the expectant mother is allowed to fly but will need to sign a “Release and Indemnity” certificate to absolve the airline against any liabilities should anything unforeseen happen.
b. From the 28th to 34th week onward, the expectant mother will need to obtain a medical certificate (at least one week’s validity) from her doctor stating the expected due-date and her fitness-to-fly; she will also need to sign the “Release and Indemnity” certificate.
c. Any women whose pregnancy is beyond the 35th week will not be allowed to fly.
With the above in mind, I found out that she did not satisfy the second condition. She was then told politely that she had to disembark otherwise the captain would have to be held accountable should anything happen.
The aircraft commander is the principal person responsible for ensuring the health and safety for every single passengers on the flight, and as such I would be called up to explain for not adhering to normal airlines procedures.
I felt sorry for the crying mother who was very reluctant to leave but I believe it was probably not her fault as she may not have been properly informed. As such, I felt it necessary to write this article in order to inform any expectant mothers who are thinking of taking a flight whilst pregnant.
Is it safe for a pregnant mother to fly on a non-pressurized flight?
Someone once wrote to me: “Dear Captain Lim, my husband and I have booked a trip to the Bahamas six months ago. Then I got pregnant and I am five months along right now. I know it's relatively safe to fly on a commercial pressurized airplane; however, there is a 30-minute flight between Florida and the island, which I imagine, will be in a non-pressurized airplane. Do you think it's safe for me to take this flight?”
My answer: “The general rule for the carriage of expectant mother is that no medical certificate is required unless her pregnancy is between the 28th and 34th week. As such, you will be able to fly without the need for a medical certificate.”
“Airlines are generally more concerned about the possibility of pregnant passengers giving birth during mid-flight. However, if you had medical issues recently such as heavy bleeding, threatened miscarriage or high blood pressure, it is recommended that you consult a doctor prior to the flight.”
“It is true that many doctors have advised expectant mothers to avoid flying at high altitudes in non-pressurized aircraft to minimize the possibility of miscarriage resulting from insufficient oxygen reaching the foetus”.
“If your flight is around 5,000 to 8,000 feet for duration of 30 minutes, I believe it should not be a problem. However, please remember that I am not a doctor, and it is much better to consult expert medical advice if you are truly concerned”.
Place of birth and citizenship of an in-flight baby
Now, assuming that all the condition of carriage of expectant mothers are satisfied but the unexpected happens and a child is born on an airplane during a flight, what is his place of birth and citizenship?
Recently, a woman gave birth to a child on board a British Airways jet flying from London to Boston, USA. The pilot received permission to land in Nova Scotia (Canada) due to the unexpected delivery although the baby was born before the plane could land.
It was however a little more complicated as to what should go onto the child's birth certificate under ‘Place of Birth’ as well as the child’s citizenship. In this particular case, it was an Egyptian woman with a U.S. passport on a plane which took off from Britain bound for the United States but landed in Canada. Here, for customs’ purposes the baby was considered a Canadian citizen because she was born over Canada’s airspace.
The United Nations considers a child born in-flight to have been born in the airplane's registered country. However, some countries point to the city where the child first disembarked the plane as the place of birth and to the airplane's registered country as the place of citizenship.
Still, there is no exact consensus on the determination of birth place or citizenship of an in-flight-born baby. In most cases, the baby initially assumes the nationality of the mother for immediate arrival formalities.
According to British Airways which prohibits women from traveling in the last month of pregnancy, in-air births are rare. But they do happen at a rate of about one delivery per year on board their flights. Most flight attendants are trained in birthing procedures in case one of their pregnant passengers can't wait until the plane lands.
Does a baby born in-flight given free air travel for life?
Is there any truth that babies born in-flight travel for free for the rest of their lives? Well, according to a longstanding tale, a child born in-flight seems to enjoy this privilege. This unwritten rule is whispered as the reason airlines impose restrictions on expectant mothers so that they never have to provide lifetime free tickets to the in-flight-born baby!
In reality, there is very little truth in this rumor but with two exceptions. On 6 September 1995, a baby (Dararasami Thongchareon) born two months ahead of schedule on a Thai Airways Boeing 747 flight and another one (Mohd Aliff Mohd Faud) on Asia Pacific Airlines flight, were granted the above privilege. This was due to the fact that their birth had special significance of luck and good fortune for the carriers in their respective culture. However, these were the only 2 isolated cases when special privileges were ever accorded to in-flight-born babies.
So readers, if you are expecting and the delivery date is imminent, please remember the above and ensure that you get clearance from your doctor before flying. If you can delay your flight to a later date, then please do so. The priority here is to ensure the safety of yourself and your precious ‘cargo’. Nothing else is as important.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Captain Lim Khoy Hing is an AirAsia pilot who has logged more than 23,000 flight hours to date. When he’s not flying the Airbus A320, he generously shares his opinion on aviation issues and the benefit of his experience with others. For more air travel and aviation stories, check out his website at www.askcaptainlim.com.
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