Qantas plane grounded after passengers on long-haul flight report bedbug bites
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The incident led to the cancellation of the flight from Rome to Perth on Oct 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Qantas passengers on a Perth to Rome flight reported bed bug bites on 9 October, turning the long-haul trip into a nightmare.
- The airline cancelled the Rome to Perth flight on 10 October for a deep clean of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and some passengers received antihistamines, hotel stays and rebooking within 48 hours.
- Qantas apologised and said it cleans cabins regularly, disinfects every 50 days, and removes aircraft for fumigation when needed; the route, launched in 2022, remains popular despite the disruption.
AI generated
Getting bitten by bedbugs is bad enough, but having to endure an outbreak on a 17-hour flight? Now that is a nightmare scenario.
Some Qantas passengers had the misfortune of experiencing just that on a plane travelling from Perth, Australia, to Rome on Oct 9, reported the BBC.
This led to the plane’s return journey from Rome to Perth on Oct 10 being cancelled, as the airline embarked on a deep clean of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The passengers on the Oct 9 flight were given antihistamines – which are often used to treat allergy symptoms as well as itch – but the medications on the plane reportedly ran out, Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Oct 12.
The Herald quoted Qantas as saying that passengers who were affected by the flight cancellation were provided with accommodation. They were also rebooked on other flights within 48 hours of their original departure.
“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 identified on a small number of economy seats,” a spokesperson for the airline was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Qantas said it cleans its plane cabins regularly. The aircraft was taken out of service during the deep clean to remove the bedbugs as it required fumigation.
The airline added that it disinfects its planes every 50 days as a precautionary measure.
Qantas launched its non-stop service from Perth to Rome in 2022, making history as the first non-stop flight between Australia and continental Europe by any airline, according to its press statement in September 2025.
The Herald said the Perth-Rome route is popular with passengers who are willing to pay a premium for the non-stop flight.
According to Singapore’s HealthHub website, bedbugs are most active at night when they feed by piercing the skin and drinking the blood of humans or animals, with each feeding lasting between five and 10 minutes.
Their bites are extremely itchy and appear as clusters of red bumps over exposed areas. While the bites do not transmit diseases and rarely trigger allergic reactions, their saliva contains an anaesthetic and anti-clotting agent which causes intense itching.
Despite being commonly associated with unhygienic surroundings, bedbugs are not drawn to dirt and grime; they have been found in five-star hotels. Instead, they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide.