Story highlights

A baby was born on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco to Phoenix

The plane was diverted to Los Angeles for an emergency landing

The baby was delivered safely onboard thanks to fellow passengers, a nurse and a doctor

CNN  — 

Baby’s first flight took on a whole new meaning when a woman gave birth aboard a Southwest Airlines flight in midair Tuesday morning.

According to Southwest officials, the baby was born shortly after Flight 623’s 6:24 a.m. PT takeoff with the assistance of a nurse and doctor onboard.

“It was amazing,” a flight attendant said on a video posted on the airline’s website. “All the passengers were awesome. Everybody was clapping.”

The flight was then diverted to Los Angeles International Airport about 7:30 a.m.

It was originally bound for Phoenix from San Francisco.

“Beautiful day. Smooth. Everything was going great,” Capt. John Gordy said. “About 50 minutes prior to touchdown, we got a call from the flight attendants in the back.”

Gordy said air traffic control guided the plane to Los Angeles, moving flights in front of them to open a clear path.

The plane was met by a Los Angeles Fire Department emergency response team upon landing, according to LAX spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado.

Mother and child were transported to a local hospital and are “doing fine,” according to Alvarado.

“LAFD praises an ER RN that assisted the mother in giving birth prior to our arrival,” LAFD spokesman Erik Scott said in a statement.

After a two-and-a-half hour delay, the 111 other passengers aboard Flight 623 were able to continue their journey to Phoenix aboard a new aircraft.

CNN’s Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.