A woman who went into premature labour on an Air Canada flight landed in Bermuda with a newborn after the flight had to be diverted to the island.

The woman delivered her baby before the plane could land, with the help of two doctors who happened to be on board and volunteered to help.

The Toronto Starreported that the incident occurred last week on a flight to Toronto from the Caribbean island of St Lucia.

Flights typically divert to Bermuda for medical emergencies — less commonly for technical problems, such as a radar malfunction that hit New York traffic controllers in November 2019.

The carrier was Air Canada Rouge, a low-budget subsidiary catering to leisure travellers, which allows pregnant passengers to travel up to and including week 36 of pregnancy.

The Star said the flight was met in Bermuda by medical staff who took the mother and child to hospital, where they were said to be “in healthy condition”.

Bermuda Hospitals Board was unable to give details under the hospital’s strict policy of patient confidentiality.