A HERO doctor delivered a baby during a flight after leaping into action while returning from his holiday.

Dr Hassan Khan, an A&E doctor at Basildon Hospital was flying home after a holiday with friends in Amman, Jordan, when the crew suddenly called over the tannoy to ask “if a doctor was on-board”.

After immediately offering his assistance, Dr Khan was told that a 38-year-old mother’s waters had broken.

Dr Khan, 28, was the only doctor on the flight who had experience in delivering babies and with his help the mum gave birth to a healthy baby girl on the floor outside the cockpit.

Despite the help of his friends, who are also doctors, as well as a few borrowed towels from passengers on board, the language barrier added an extra level of difficulty.

Echo: Amazing - Dr Hassan Khan with his friends and the crewAmazing - Dr Hassan Khan with his friends and the crew (Image: Mid and South Essex NHS Trust)

Thanks to a passenger on-board the flight acting as a translator, Dr Khan was able to reassure the mum during the “surreal experience”.

Recalling the experience, Dr Khan said: “I had to stay really focused to have the baby delivered with the limited support I had and look after the baby right after the delivery.

“The focus and criticality of the moment helped me filter-out the distractions from the panicked passengers and crew.

“I was so fixated on managing the situation, I almost forgot we were on an aircraft, and it felt surreal to help deliver a baby safely with more than two hundred unknown passengers and flight crew around.”

The flight was roughly two hours into the five-hour trip from Jordan to Luton Airport, and was diverted to Brindisi Airport in southern Italy so the mum and baby could be taken to hospital.

According to Dr Khan, the flight attendants told him the baby was only the 75th infant to be born on a commercial flight Dr Khan admitted it was a great relief that medical professionals were onboard the plane, but offered words of advice to any mums who may find themselves in a similar position.

He added: “Stay calm, use whatever resources are available, tap into the birthing experience of the mothers on board, and work together to help the birthing mum.”