Qantas Airways canceled a scheduled Rome-to-Perth flight after bedbugs were found in a small number of economy seats on one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the airline said, apologizing to customers and putting affected travelers up in hotels while they were rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours.
The trouble surfaced on the outbound long-haul leg from Perth to Rome, a journey of nearly 17 hours, when passengers reported being bitten by insects. Travelers had first alerted the flight crew during the earlier Sydney-to-Perth segment of the journey, according to accounts given to Australian television. Before the aircraft departed for Rome, staff took what the airline described as preventative measures: the cabin was deep cleaned, seat coverings and soft furnishings were removed, and the impacted seats were cordoned off.
Those steps did not settle the matter. Passenger Hailey Bagnall told 9News Sydney that the bugs were «crawling over our belongings, our clothing, our Qantas blankets, and they were even crawling along the window.» Other travelers described being «woken by screaming» and said «the bugs just kept coming.» As passengers collected their bags, they found the pests inside their shoes and on their clothing. Crew members handed out antihistamines to ease the itchy bites but eventually ran out of the medication.
Qantas said the return service, due to leave Rome for Perth the following day, was canceled so engineers and maintenance teams could carry out a deep clean of the aircraft after the issue was identified on a small number of economy seats. «We sincerely apologize to customers for the cancellation of Saturday’s Rome-to-Perth service,» the airline said. It added that its aircraft are regularly cleaned to a high standard and receive a precautionary disinfectant treatment every 50 days.
The episode highlights a persistent nuisance for airlines and travelers alike. Benjamin Hottel, a Georgia-based entomologist with the pest-control firm Orkin, has said bedbugs are skilled at «hitchhiking» on personal belongings. The insects measure between 1 and 5 millimeters and feed on human blood. Health officials note that while their bites cause itching and swelling, bedbugs are not known to spread disease and are not considered a public health hazard.
Hottel's advice for travelers is to inspect luggage and clothing after a trip and, if exposure is suspected, to place travel clothes in a dryer on high heat for about 30 to 45 minutes. That, he said, can help eliminate the insects before they spread inside the home. For Qantas, the immediate cost was a scrubbed long-haul service, a grounded Dreamliner and a planeload of passengers whose journeys were reset by an infestation discovered seat by seat.