Man Born on Turkish Air Flight Grows Up to Work For Airline

In 1990, Erkan Geldi’s mother went into labor on a Turkish Airlines flight. Years later, Geldi explains how the circumstances of his birth have influenced his chosen career.

Some say that he was born for the job, and Erkan Geldi would probably agree with the sentiment. In 1990, his mother was traveling on a Frankfurt-bound Turkish Airlines flight from Izmir when she went into labor, delivering Geldi upon descent. Years later, as a flight attendant for the carrier, Geldi has explained his very personal connection to both his profession and the airline for which he now works.

In an interview with Road Warrior Voices, Geldi speaks of the dramatic circumstances which led up to his birth. It was his mother’s first time flying, he says, and she was afraid. She suddenly went into labor and he was delivered by a newly qualified gynecologist who just happened to be onboard. Geldi was named after the pilot of the flight, who has since retired from duty, and has been in contact with the plane’s purser, the woman who held him just after he was born.

The circumstances of his birth certainly piqued Geldi’s interest in aviation and he explained that, “My father worked in Germany, and we took a plane twice a year to visit. I wondered every time I saw a plane what it must be like to work there.”

Geldi began working for Turkish Airlines last year and says that, “During the interview process, they asked me why I picked this occupation. I replied that actually the occupation chose me!”

Though there have been a couple of other births onboard Turkish Airlines planes within the last few decades, Geldi takes pride in his special status. As far as he knows, he is the only baby to actually have been born in midair.

Speaking affectionately of his job, he adds that, “I love working as a Turkish Airlines flight attendant meeting people from around the world. Every day is a new adventure for me. Maybe one day a baby will be born on one of my planes.”

[Photo: Turkish Airlines]