Passengers aboard a packed 16-hour flight were left scratching after a bed bug infestation forced Qantas to ground one of its jets, stranding travellers thousands of miles from home.
Those on board flight QF5 from Perth to Rome reported being bitten by the blood-sucking parasites during the journey on October 9, with a number of affected customers treated with antihistamines upon landing. The problem reportedly became so severe that the aircraft's supply of the medication was completely exhausted.
Aircraft taken out of service
The Australian carrier took the Boeing 787 Dreamliner out of service and scrapped its return flight while engineers undertook an extensive deep clean and fumigation of the aircraft, according to The Mirror.
Bed bugs, which survive by feeding on human blood and are commonly transmitted via luggage and clothing, can cause itchy, inflamed bites on their victims. Qantas is the latest airline to grapple with such an issue, following comparable incidents reported on British Airways and Turkish Airlines flights in recent years.
Passengers accommodated
Passengers caught up in the disruption were put up in hotels and transferred onto alternative flights.
"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," a spokesperson for the carrier said.
