A passenger on a flight from LaGuardia to Detroit was in for a nauseating shock after they noticed a bed bug crawling up their leg during the hour-and-a-half flight to Motor City on Monday afternoon.
The incident allegedly occurred on an American Airlines flight operated by regional carrier Republic Airways, which also flies on behalf of Delta and United Airlines.
Taking to Reddit, the passenger shared a photo of the almost see-through bug that they managed to capture in a napkin before alerting a flight attendant to the fact that the 10 year old jet might have a bed bug infestation.
“I saw the bug crawling on my pant leg while I was reading my book. It was a sharp contrast to the dark pant color,” the passenger wrote in their post. “I was able to have it climb on my finger and then put it on the napkin to show the FA [flight attendant]”.
The passenger added: “Damn thing tried to bite my finger! SO GROSS!!”
Fearing that more bed bugs might be hitching a ride on his clothes, the passenger says he changed clothes in the airport after arriving in Detroit and then bagged the clothes he had been wearing on the plane.
“Hoping no stragglers got on my backpack or checked bag during the clothing swap,” the passenger said in the hope that he doesn’t take a bed bug back home with him.
Some commentators suggested blasting the soiled clothes in a dryer for at least 30 minutes to kill any bed bugs or eggs, while others implored the passenger to submit a formal complaint to American Airlines.
The passenger says that he quickly submitted a complaint to AA but ended up getting a copy and paste response back from the carrier which didn’t address his specific complaint.
Unfortunately, bed bugs on a plane aren’t a new phenomenon, and the small nocturnal creatures, which go by the scientific name of Cimex lectularius, can sometimes thrive in the upholstery and carpets or airplane cabins.
In 2017 and 2018, British Airways faced a slew of complaints from passengers who claimed they had been bitten multiple times by bed bugs during overnight long-haul flights.
In October 2017, Heather Szilagyi and her seven-year-old daughter complained of being bitten by the bugs on a British Airways flight from Vancouver to London. The family were forced to endure a 9-hour flight as the bugs bit them on their legs and backs.
A short time later, a British businessman complained of being bitten around “120-150 times” by bed bugs on a 14-hour flight from London to Cape Town. Mike Gregory said he noticed red blood spots on his blanket and complained of an “itchy waist, torso and hands.”
At the time, a spokesperson for British Airways said that bed bug incidents were rare but that they were a known issue that effects both hotels and airlines around the world.
Late last year, flight attendants at United Airlines were told to arm themselves with latex gloves and a flashlight so that they could go on the hunt for bedbugs on arrival at their hotel during layovers.
Flight attendants at the Chicago-based carrier were urged to stop using fabric luggage in favor of hardshell cases with smooth surfaces, which make it harder for bedbugs to hitch a ride.
To prevent bed bugs from getting onto luggage, crew members were advised to keep their cases off the floor of their hotel room and away from beds and sofas, ideally on a luggage rack or glass table.
