Qantas Flight Grounded After Passengers Report Bed Bug Infestation
An outbreak of bed bugs led to the cancellation of a Qantas flight from Rome to Perth, leaving passengers stranded.
A Qantas flight was taken out of service for extensive cleaning and fumigation after passengers reported a bed bug infestation on board.
The incident occurred on flight QF5, traveling from Perth to Rome, on October 9. Passengers reported seeing bed bugs crawling on their belongings, clothing, and the aircraft's windows. Some travelers also reported being bitten during the 17-hour journey.
Passengers claim they alerted Qantas staff to the issue hours earlier, during the Sydney-to-Perth leg of the flight, but the aircraft continued to Rome. "They were crawling over our belongings, our clothing, our Qantas blankets, and they were even crawling along the window," passenger Hailey Bagnall told 9News. "On the way to getting our bags, the bugs just kept coming. They were in my husband's shoes, crawling up our legs, crawling on our jumpers."
Another passenger described being woken by screaming and a child exclaiming "buggies."
Qantas confirmed the cancellation of the return service from Rome to Perth on Saturday, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to allow for a deep clean and fumigation. A spokesperson for the airline apologized to customers and stated the cancellation provided an opportunity for maintenance crews to address the issue identified in a small number of economy seats.
Airlines regularly clean their aircraft, with Qantas stating its planes undergo disinfection every 50 days as a precautionary measure. Bed bugs, which are small, wingless insects that feed on human blood, can spread easily through clothing and luggage and are notoriously difficult to eradicate.
Their bites can cause itching and swelling, though they are not known to transmit diseases. Affected passengers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure.
This is not the first reported instance of bed bugs disrupting international air travel. Similar incidents have occurred on British Airways and Turkish Airlines flights in previous years.
