Qantas flight grounded after bedbug outbreak

After an outbreak of bedbugs on the plane, a Qantas flight from Italy to Australia was cancelled on Saturday.

Key points

• After they were left covered in bug bites from an overnight flight, in 2017, British Airways apologised to a family travelling from Vancouver to London.
• The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had to be grounded for "a deep clean", a Qantas spokesperson informed the BBC.
• All affected customers were provided with accommodation and were rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure, the carrier remarked.
• They were reportedly given antihistamines to support ease the itch of the bites, but supplies ran out.
• Bedbugs are small, wingless parasites that can live on clothes, furniture and bedding.

During the previous flight on Friday – a almost 17-hour journey from Perth to Rome – some passengers had complained that they were being bitten by bugs, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Notably, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had to be grounded for "a deep clean", a Qantas spokesperson informed the BBC.

"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 spokesperson remarked.

Bedbugs are small, wingless parasites that can live on clothes, furniture and bedding. Their bites can be itchy but they do not usually cause more serious health challenges, the NHS website states, external.

But they can be tough and expensive to secure rid of. Treatment includes washing all bedding, clothing, and household materials like curtains on a hot wash and tumble dry, or they can be put in plastic bags in a freezer for three or four days.

Bedbugs causing travel chaos is not unusual – less than two weeks ago, a number of Southeastern train services in England were cancelled after drivers discovered the creepy-crawlies in their cabs.

And Turkish Airlines faced with a PR nightmare last year after the New York Times documented, external of a number of instances of bedbug infestations on its planes – and allegations at the time that the airline did nothing regarding it.

In short, qantas flight grounded after bedbug outbreak is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.