I think it’s fair to say that somewhere in the consciousness of every New Yorker is the constant fear/plea: “PLEASE don’t let me get bed bugs!” The issue even ranks as a question on New York Magazine’s “how ‘New York’ notable New Yorkers really are” quiz, as evidenced recently when they presented Anne Hathaway with the reverse Sophie’s Choice (where you want to keep neither option) of “bed bugs or roaches?” Sensibly, Anne chose roaches. Well, here’s a petrifying situation I’d naively never contemplated: catching bed bugs on an airplane. Noooooooooo! But unfortunately, that was a yes for some very unlucky passengers on a 17-HOUR Qantas flight from Perth to Rome last Friday. Qantas claims the parasites only impacted a small number of seats, but it was bad enough that the plane crew ran out of antihistamines to hand out! So the return flight scheduled for the next day was grounded for a deep clean/fumigation. Here’s more on the Qantas flight that did not have a g’day, mate:
A Qantas flight from Italy to Australia was cancelled on Saturday, after an outbreak of bedbugs on the plane.
During the previous flight on Friday – a nearly 17-hour journey from Perth to Rome – some passengers had complained that they were being bitten by bugs, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
They were reportedly given antihistamines to help ease the itch of the bites, but supplies ran out.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had to be grounded for “a deep clean”, a Qantas spokesperson told 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 said.
All affected customers were provided with accommodation and were rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure, the carrier added.
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 problems, the NHS website says.
But they can be difficult and expensive to get 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 to four days.
Bedbugs causing travel chaos is not unusual – less than two weeks ago, several Southeastern train services in England were cancelled after drivers discovered the creepy-crawlies in their cabs.
In 2017, British Airways apologised to a family travelling from Vancouver to London, after they were left covered in bug bites from an overnight flight.
And Turkish Airlines faced a PR nightmare last year after the New York Times reported several instances of bedbug infestations on its planes – and allegations at the time that the airline did nothing about it.
To hell with a PR nightmare — catching bed bugs on a plane is the stuff of my corporeal nightmares! (Click here for a snapshot I took of myself when reading this horror story.) But actually, speaking of PR, I’d like to return for a moment to the statement made by Qantas: “…an issue was identified on a small number of economy seats.” Why is Qantas making a special note about the outbreak only being in **economy** seats?! Do we not pay for bed bug-free travel?! Even if it is in the class my father once jokingly referred to as “steerage!” Where Qantas did do the right thing, was to put the Saturday customers up in hotels (or whatever “accommodations” is standing in for) and rebook their flights. Even so, I would need some tangible verification that my new flight was not the same aircraft! And even if I knew it was a different plane, I’d still be low-level freaked out for the whole trip. I’ve always been a good flier, but this bugaboo is gonna be hard to shake — as hard as getting bed bugs out of soft goods!!
Photos credit: IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Markus Mainka/Avalon, Jeffry Surianto and Josh Withers on Pexels
It somehow makes sense that a bedbug infestation on a plane will now be forever linked to Trump’s presidency, at least for me.