Bed bug horror aboard Qantas flight as passengers are bitten mid-air before travellers are stranded for days
A Qantas flight has been grounded following a bed bug outbreak, leaving furious passengers stranded for days.
The outbreak was detected on October 9 after travellers on flight QF5 from Perth to Rome reported being bitten by bugs mid-flight.
Qantas was then forced to cancel the return flight from Rome to Perth on Saturday, with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner taken out of service for a deep clean and fumigation.
According to the airline, affected passengers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure.
A Qantas spokesperson said: ‘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 Perth-to-Rome route is a popular non-stop service for Australia’s national carrier, which has extended the seasonal service until late October by adding 40 flights and almost 10,000 seats.
Bed bugs, which range from one to five millimetres in length, are small wingless insects that feed on human blood.
They can spread through clothing, furniture and personal belongings.
A Qantas flight has been grounded after an outbreak of bed bugs, leaving passengers stranded in Rome for days
The outbreak was detected on October 9 when passengers onboard the Dreamliner from Perth to Rome complained of being bitten mid-flight
They are notoriously difficult to treat, with rapid heat and freezing techniques, alongside chemical treatments and fumigation, needed to eradicate them.
While their bites can cause itching and swelling, they are not known to spread disease.
‘Bed bugs are not believed to transmit diseases to humans,’ according to the Victorian Government’s Better Health Channel website.
‘Their bite typically causes a large, reddened and itchy weal that fades to a red spot.’
The health authority said bed bug bites were painless and that reactions varied.
‘Some people do not react to the bites, but for others the bites can become itchy and swell into reddened weals (or welts).’
In 2017, bed bugs were found on a British Airways flight from Vancouver to London.
In 2024, passengers on a Turkish Airways flight from Johannesburg to Istanbul complained of a bed bug outbreak.
