Bed Bugs Fly Free On Many Airlines

A British Airways plane infested with bed bugs was allegedly kept in service despite staff knowing about the problem - a claim the airline denies.

Staff at the airline logged the issue after the insects were spotted and passengers bitten on a flight from the US to Heathrow last week. So serious was the problem that an entire row – 47 – was closed in economy class, the newspaper said.

But staff claimed that engineers did not have time to deal with the bugs and bosses decided to keep the aircraft in service. Days later another real infestation was reported on the same Boeing 747 during a flight from Cape Town to Heathrow.

British Airways denied that it had allowed the plane to return to the sky after the outbreak was discovered.

Whenever any report of bed bugs is received, we launch a thorough investigation and, if appropriate, remove the aircraft from service and use specialist teams to treat it, a spokesman said. The presence of bed bugs is an issue faced occasionally by hotels and airlines all over the world. British Airways operates more than 280,000 flights every year, and reports of bed bugs onboard are extremely rare. Nevertheless, we are vigilant about the issue and continually monitor our aircraft."

The aircraft has now been fully disinfected and cleaned.

As the name would suggest, the insects are more commonly spotted in bedrooms, and outbreaks sometimes occur in hotels.

Last month a couple posted a video showing dozens of bed bugs on the mattress in their New York hotel room. The incident left one of the guests covered in bites.

And in July two holidaymakers won compensation from Thomas Cook after they suffered severe rashes thanks to a bed bug infestation at a resort in the Dominican Republic.

But outbreaks do occasionally occur in the sky. “There are numerous cases of bed bugs being spread on airplanes,” according to Bed-Bugs.com, which offers extermination services. “Bed bugs can spread through close proximity with fellow travellers as well as their belongings.

They also thrive where there is frequent turnover of people. On airplanes, people are in close proximity, are not able to move other than on the plane, and their belongings are required to stay untouched for long periods of time. This is an excellent recipe for bed bug transmittal.”

In 2011 BA was forced to ground two 747s after a passenger said she was bitten on a flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow. The same woman claimed she was bitten on a separate flight from Bangalore to London a month later and set up a website (since closed) to put pressure on the airline to act. Forums have described sightings on US carriers too – including American Airlines, United and Delta.