Australian airline Qantas canceled a flight from Rome to Perth after bed bugs were discovered aboard an aircraft, delaying some passengers by up to two days, local media reported.
Passengers aboard flight QF5 from Perth to Rome on Oct. 9 reported being bitten by insects and were given antihistamines on medical advice, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The airline subsequently canceled Saturday’s return flight, QF6, to allow maintenance teams to deep-clean the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
“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,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
Affected passengers were provided accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their scheduled departure.
Qantas said its aircraft are regularly cleaned and disinfected every 50 days as a precaution.
According to Australia’s Better Health Channel, bed bugs are blood-feeding parasites whose bites can cause itching and swelling but are not believed to transmit diseases to humans.