Qantas Flight Grounded After Bedbug Outbreak
BBC News
Image source: Massimo Insabato via Getty Images
Image caption: A Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner (file photo)
By Tiffany Wertheimer
Published 24 minutes ago
A Qantas flight from Italy to Australia was cancelled on Saturday after an outbreak of bedbugs on the plane.
During the previous flight on Friday – a nearly 17-hour journey from Perth to Rome – some passengers had complained of being bitten by bugs. They were reportedly provided with antihistamines to ease the itch but supplies ran out.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had to be grounded for a "deep clean," a Qantas spokesperson told the BBC.
"We sincerely apologise to customers for the cancellation of Saturday's Rome to Perth service, which allowed our engineers and maintenance teams to carry out a deep clean of the aircraft after an issue was identified on a small number of economy seats," the spokesperson said.
All affected customers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure, the carrier added.
Bedbugs are small, wingless parasites that can live on clothes, furniture, and bedding. While their bites can be itchy, they typically do not cause more serious health problems, according to the NHS website. Treatment involves washing all bedding, clothing, and household materials like curtains on a hot wash and tumble dry, or freezing them for three or four days.
Bedbugs causing travel chaos is not uncommon. Less than two weeks ago, several Southeastern train services in England were cancelled after drivers discovered the creepy-crawlies in their cabs. In 2017, British Airways apologised to a family travelling from Vancouver to London after they were left covered in bug bites from an overnight flight. And Turkish Airlines faced a PR nightmare last year after the New York Times reported instances of bedbug infestations on its planes and allegations that the airline did nothing about it.