Qantas grounded one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners over the weekend and cancelled a return flight after passengers travelling from Australia were bitten by bedbugs during their 17-hour journey
Cabin crew handed out antihistamines for the itching after the bites began when the flight from Perth to Rome was already in the air, Italian media reported.
Staff confirmed the blood-sucking insects were on board once the aircraft landed at Fiumicino airport.
“We sincerely apologise to customers for the cancellation of Saturday’s Rome-Perth flight,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
“This allowed our engineers and staff to carry out a deep clean of the aircraft after a problem was found on a small number of economy class seats.”
Bedbug bites leave itchy marks of two to five millimetres, often in a line, which clear up within about a week, according to the IZSVe.
Infestations are hard to deal with, it said, as normal washing does not kill the insects and fabrics need treating at high temperatures.
The Qantas report recalled fears of infestations around Europe in autumn 2023 following reports of a widespread bedbug problem in Paris.
Italy did not see a rise in reports of bedbug infestations during this period, and the country does not have a particular problem with them, according to IZSVe and national pest control association Anid.
“There’s a chance of coming across them in Italian cities,” IZSVe biologist Fabrizio Montarsi told Italian newspaper Il Post at the time. “But they’re not as common as flies or mosquitoes, and the problem is limited for now.”
Pest control firms in Italy say their methods are effective, as most have now switched from insecticides to steam treatments at up to 180C, which kill bedbugs and their eggs.