British Airways plane 'infested with bed bugs kept in service'

Updated
Commercial Airliner, Onboard video Monitors
Commercial Airliner, Onboard video Monitors




A British Airways plane 'infested' with bed bugs was allegedly kept in service after cabin crew reported the issue to bosses.

Passengers were reportedly bitten by the bugs and saw their eggs on the America to London Heathrow flight last week.

The Sun reports that a row of seats on the Boeing 747 had to be closed off, but days later there was another "severe" infestation on the plane from Cape Town to London.

BA staff reportedly claim engineers did not have time to deal with the bug in between flights and bosses decided to keep the jet in service.

A British Airways spokesman told the Daily Telegraph that the aircraft has now been disinfected.

"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," they 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."

In 2012, a Ryanair plane was taken out of service when two passengers complained of insect bites after their flight.

The passengers, who travelled from Billund, Denmark to Ciampino, Italy, made a complaint while they were waiting in the terminal to collect their luggage.

Several Italian news outlets reported that doctors diagnosed tick bites and contacted pest control.

As a result, the aircraft was taken out of service overnight so that it could be disinfected. It was returned to service the following day.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "As the source of these alleged insect bites was unknown, Ryanair was happy to disinfect the aircraft overnight before returning it to service."



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