Passengers on a nearly 17-hour Qantas flight woke up to screams and bite marks, and now the airline has pulled the plane from service entirely.
Quick Take
- Qantas flight QF5 flew from Perth to Rome on October 9, and passengers reported bedbug bites during the trip.
- Qantas canceled the return flight, QF6, on October 10 so crews could deep clean the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
- Qantas apologized and said the issue involved “a small number of economy seats.”
- All affected passengers got hotel rooms and new flights within 48 hours.
- Qantas has not yet said what caused the bugs or confirmed lab testing of the insects.
Flight Turns Into Nightmare Over the Pacific
Qantas flight QF5 left Perth, Australia, for Rome on October 9. During the long flight, passengers said bugs crawled across seats, clothing, and even the windows. Many woke up with itchy bites. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Australia’s ABC both reported passengers complained of bites during the journey, and the aircraft was grounded once it landed in Rome for a deep clean.
Some travelers described being jolted awake by other passengers screaming after spotting bugs on their skin or belongings. The complaints came from the economy cabin, where rows of passengers sat packed together for nearly 17 hours straight. That length of flight time gave any pests plenty of time to spread before anyone noticed.
Qantas Cancels Return Flight and Apologizes
Qantas pulled the plane from service instead of flying it back to Perth as scheduled. The airline canceled QF6, the October 10 return flight, so engineers and maintenance crews could clean the jet. A Qantas spokesperson apologized directly to customers, saying the cancellation “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.”
Qantas says it normally disinfects its aircraft every 50 days as part of routine upkeep. Still, the airline grounded this particular Boeing 787 Dreamliner rather than risk sending it back into service with the problem unresolved. Cleaning out bedbugs on a plane is not simple. Crews often rely on steam and vacuums since strong chemical fumigation can damage onboard electrical wiring.
Passengers Get Hotels and New Flights
Qantas moved quickly to take care of travelers caught in the disruption. The airline put every affected passenger up in a hotel and rebooked them onto new flights within 48 hours. That kind of fast turnaround suggests Qantas treated the situation as serious enough to avoid delay, even though the airline described the scope as limited to a handful of seats.
Experts say bedbugs showing up on planes is rare but not unheard of. A parasitologist at Macquarie University said the bugs likely hitched a ride in a passenger’s luggage or clothing rather than living in the aircraft long-term. Other airlines, including British Airways and Turkish Airlines, have dealt with similar reports in the past, even though both carriers call such cases extremely uncommon given how many flights they run each year.
Qantas Airways Cancels Flight From Italy to Australia After Bedbugs Were Found in Economy-Class Seats
Qantas Airways has apologised after canceling a scheduled Rome-to-Perth flight to allow a thorough cleaning of its aircraft following reports of a bedbug infestation.
According… pic.twitter.com/yEATr9Vxjx
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) October 17, 2026
Qantas has not said what caused the bugs to appear or whether lab testing confirmed the exact species involved. The airline says it is still looking into the matter. For now, the confirmed facts are straightforward: passengers reported bites, Qantas grounded the plane, and the company moved to clean it and take care of travelers while the investigation continues.
Sources:
facebook.com, cnn.com, canberratimes.com.au, theprint.in
