Qantas plane grounded after passengers complain of bedbug bites

Bedbugs feed mainly on human blood and are not known to spread diseases. Their bites can cause red, itchy welts but generally do not lead to serious complications.

Symptoms can be resolved with oral antihistamines and calamine lotion.

Bedbugs are usually black, dark brown or reddish-brown. Those that have recently fed appear swollen, while those that have not fed for some time are flatter.

Their eggs are pale, translucent and about 1mm long, making them difficult to spot.

PAST CASES OF BEDBUGS ON FLIGHTS

Although uncommon, bedbug infestations have previously been reported on commercial flights. 

In 2017, a Canadian family on a British Airways flight from Vancouver to London were bitten by bedbugs onboard the plane, the Guardian reported.

Heather Szilagyi, along with her fiance and seven-year-old daughter, had been travelling from Canada to Slovakia. Szilagyi told Canadian broadcaster CTV that she had noticed the bedbugs on the seat in front of her, and spotted another crawling out from behind a TV monitor.

In 2025, a family in Virginia sued Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, alleging that they had been bitten by bedbugs on flights operated by the carriers, NBC News reported.

The family alleged that the bites caused “raised and itchy welts, lesions, and rashes across their torsos and extremities”. The bites had also ruined the family vacation and caused “humiliation … inconvenience, medical expenses and loss of clothing and personal items”, they said.