Passengers stranded in Italy after bedbug outbreak grounds long-haul flight to Australia

A Qantas flight from Italy to Australia was cancelled after the aircraft had to be grounded for a “deep clean” following a bedbug outbreak. The Boeing 787 was operating a 17-hour flight from Australia to Italy on 9 October when passengers in the economy section complained to crew that they had been bitten by bedbugs, a Qantas spokesperson said.The aircraft was grounded for a “deep clean” after the long-haul flight arrived in Rome, leading to the cancellation of the return flight scheduled for 10 October. “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 said. Customers affected by the cancellation were reportedly provided accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their scheduled departure. Bedbugs are tiny wingless insects that thrive in dry and humid environments and can travel on items like clothing, suitcases, and bedding. They’re attracted by heat and carbon dioxide, feed on blood and spend much of their time in crevices, making humans perfect hosts. While their bites can cause itching, redness and swelling, “bed bugs are not believed to transmit diseases to humans”, according to the Victorian government’s Better Health Channel website. This photo taken on 23 August 2017 shows a Qantas plane taking off from Sydney airport (PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)“Their bite typically causes a large, reddened and itchy weal that fades to a red spot,” the website notes. “Some people don’t react to the bites but for others the bites can become itchy and swell into reddened weals or welts.” Qantas says it cleans its aircraft regularly, disinfecting them every 50 days as a precaution. In December 2025, a family flying from the US to Europe on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight claimed bedbugs crawling all over their business-class seats had ruined their trip. The family sued the airline and its American partner Delta Air Lines alleging that they were “bitten and injured by bedbugs that had infested the cabin". Delta told People magazine at the time that “as this pending litigation eventually states, the allegations at issue relate to flights not operated by Delta Air Lines”. “Delta will review the complaint and respond accordingly in due course," it added. KLM told The Independent it would be "unable to comment on the specific allegations at this time" but would address the matter in "the appropriate legal channels”.