TRAVEL TALES

BABY ON BOARD

An Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta was forced to divert to Mumbai last month when a woman on board went into labour, reportedly giving birth to the baby 40 minutes before the plane landed.

HIT THE MOTHER LODE

Police arrested a 22-year-old man at Baltimore Washington International Airport after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff discovered a gun in his carry-on luggage that the man said he wasn’t aware of, claiming his mother had packed his bag for him.

SMELL TO HIGH HEAVEN

A recent Sriwijaya Air flight bound for Jakarta from Bengkulu was temporarily grounded when staff were forced to remove two tonnes of durian fruit from the cargo hold after passengers complained of an overwhelming smell that had wafted up into the cabin.

BOOZE CREW

A Japan Airlines first officer was arrested at London Heathrow Airport after failing a breath test 50 minutes prior to departure, leading to a 69-minute delay of a Tokyo-bound flight. The pilot was later found to be nine times over the legal limit.

SLUMBERING STOWAWAY

After falling asleep in the forward cargo hold of a Boeing 737 at Kansas City, an intoxicated American Airlines baggage handler ended up accidentally flying all the way to Chicago when the plane took off and he was only discovered once it landed.