Air Canada crew member sought early return as wife went into labour

A crew member operating an Air Canada flight from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport to Miami International Airport asked to be released from duty after learning his expecting wife had been admitted to hospital, according to an account of communications from the aircraft.

The request was made while the flight, AC1208, was cruising at 36,000 feet over Virginia on Thursday, October 1. The crew member's wife was at the hospital after her water had possibly broken, and he asked to travel as an off-duty crew member on a company flight back to Canada as soon as possible.

The aircraft, an Airbus A220-300 registered C-GVUO, completed the outbound leg and then operated flight AC1205 back to Canada, landing in Montréal on October 1 at 11:30 AM EDT. Whether the crew member reached the hospital before the birth was not confirmed.