Baby born on Canadian airspace granted citizenship

The Federal Government has granted citizenship to Sasha, a child who was born to a Ugandan woman on an international flight crossing Canada.

The baby, who weighed six-pound (2.2 kilogram), was delivered at 30,000 feet on a crowded Northwest Airlines from Amsterdam to Boston on the Eve of New Year.

The mother who was eight-and-half months pregnant when she boarded the plane, went into labour just six hours after the plane took-off and subsequently delivered the child as the plane crossed through the Canadian airspace.

Under the law, almost anyone who is born here is a Canadian citizen, said communications director for immigration minister Jason Kenney.

She said that the general rule has few exception, one of which means that children born of foreign diplomats in this country will not be granted Canadian citizenship.

She said that it is the opinion of the government that someone who is born in an airplane crossing over Canada is a beneficiary of the rule.

Ms. Velshi said that the government believes that Canadian territory extends to the airspace as well, and this means that a child born in the Canadian airspace is a Canadian citizen.

In order to speed her passage through customs, US officials judged the baby as Canadian when the plane landed the Logan International Airport of Boston at 10:30 am. Following this, the woman and her baby were taken to the Massachusetts General Hospital and they were released later.

However, initially the Canadian officials were uncertain as to whether the child was eligible for citizenship. Federal immigration lawyers were then asked to review the case since there was no known example in Canada.

Ms. Velshi said that baby Sasha can now acquire proof of her citizenship by applying to Citizenship and Immigration Canada with a birth certificate and other details for identification.

Name of the mother of baby Sasha has yet not been released by the airline and it is not clear as to what was her reason to travel to the US or why was she traveling so late in her pregnancy.

An appeal was made on the public address system of the Boeing 757 for help with a medical emergency and two doctors came forward following the appeal, according to the accounts in US papers.

Dr. Thakker, one of the doctors said the pilot that it was too long for an emergency landing as the baby has already crowned and was on its way. Ten minutes later, Sasha was born without complications.