An international flight scheduled to travel from Italy to Australia was abruptly canceled last week when a bedbug infestation was discovered in the cabin during an earlier flight, and the airline issued an apology for the incident.
The grounding came after passengers on the nearly 17-hour Qantas journey from Perth to Rome reported being bitten by the insects Oct. 9, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“We sincerely apologize 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,” Qantas Airways Limited told Fox News Digital.
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Passenger Hailey Bagnall told the TV news program “9News Sydney” that bedbugs were “crawling over our belongings, our clothing, our Qantas blankets, and they were even crawling along the window.”
The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Other travelers also recounted their experiences to “9News,” with one passenger claiming to be “woken by screaming,” while another noted that “the bugs just kept coming.”
As they collected their bags, the passengers discovered the pests were inside their shoes and crawling on their clothing.
Travelers first alerted the flight crew about the bedbugs during the initial Sydney-to-Perth leg of the journey, according to “9News.”
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The airline said that, before departing on the subsequent long-haul leg to Rome, staff took several preventative measures, including deep cleaning the cabin, removing seat coverings and soft furnishings, and cordoning off the impacted seats.
Qantas also noted that its aircraft are regularly cleaned to a high standard and undergo a precautionary disinfectant treatment every 50 days.
To alleviate the itchy bites, travelers on the flight were provided with antihistamines, though the crew eventually ran out of the medication, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
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After the return flight, which had been due to depart from Rome to Perth Oct. 10, was canceled to complete the deep cleaning, affected passengers were provided with hotel accommodations and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours.
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Benjamin Hottel, a Georgia-based entomologist with Orkin, previously told Fox News Digital that bedbugs are skilled at “hitchhiking” on personal belongings.
Measuring between 1 and 5 millimeters, the insects feed on human blood.
Health officials note, however, that while their bites cause itching and swelling, bedbugs are not known to spread disease and are not considered a public health hazard.
Hottel noted that travelers can unknowingly carry bedbugs onto planes, into hotels and eventually back home.
Hottel recommended inspecting luggage and clothing after trips and placing travel clothes in a dryer on high heat for about 30 to 45 minutes if exposure is suspected.
He said that can help eliminate the insects before they spread inside the home.
Kelly McGreal of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.