An international flight that was supposed to fly from Italy to Australia was suddenly canceled last week. This was due to a discovery of bedbugs in the cabin during an earlier leg of the journey, prompting the airline to apologize for the situation.
The cancellation came after passengers on a nearly 17-hour Qantas flight from Perth to Rome reported being bitten by the bugs on Friday, October 9, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the cancellation of Saturday’s Rome to Perth service, which allowed our engineers and maintenance teams to perform a deep clean of the aircraft after an issue was identified on a small number of economy seats,” Qantas Airways Limited communicated.
Passenger Hailey Bagnall shared her unsettling experience with “9News Sydney,” mentioning that the bedbugs were “crawling over our belongings, our clothing, our Qantas blankets — and they were even crawling along the window.”
The aircraft involved in this incident was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
More travelers also recounted their experiences on “9News,” with one saying they were “woken by screaming,” while another noted that “the bugs just kept coming.” As they retrieved their bags, many found the pests hiding in their shoes and on their clothes.
It was the passengers themselves who initially alerted the flight crew about the bedbugs during the earlier Sydney-to-Perth segment of the trip, according to reports.
The airline indicated that before the long-haul leg to Rome, several preventative actions were taken, including a thorough cleaning of the cabin, removing seat coverings and soft furnishings, and marking off the affected seats.
Qantas also assured that its aircraft undergo regular cleanings to high standards and that a disinfectant treatment occurs every 50 days.
To address the itchy bites, travelers were provided with antihistamines during the flight, although the crew eventually ran out of medication, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
After the planned return flight from Rome to Perth on Saturday, October 10, was canceled for further cleaning, affected passengers were given accommodations in hotels and rebooked on other flights within 48 hours.
As an interesting note, Benjamin Hottel, an entomologist based in Georgia, explained that bedbugs are quite adept at “hitchhiking” on personal items. These insects, which are between one and five millimeters long, feed on human blood.
Health officials clarify that while bedbug bites can cause itching and swelling, they don’t transmit diseases and are not classified as a public health threat.
Hottel also pointed out that travelers can unknowingly transport bedbugs onto planes, hotels, and eventually back home. His advice? To inspect luggage and clothing after trips and consider placing travel clothing in a dryer on high heat for around 30 to 45 minutes if there’s a suspicion of exposure, as this can help eliminate any hidden bugs before they settle in.
