BA defends itself against bed bug allegations
British Airways has strenuously denied newspaper reports that it kept an aircraft in service after it became infested with bed bugs.
Reports claimed this week that the 747 continue to fly even after passengers travelling in economy reported that they were bitten on a flight from the US to Heathrow, because engineers were ‘too busy’ to fumigate it.
Passengers travelling on the same aircraft later complained they were bitten on a flight from Cape Town to Heathrow, according to the reports, after which the aircraft was treated.
However, a BA spokesman said it wasn’t true that there had been no time to disinfect the aircraft and insisted that the airline would not have left an aircraft in service if it had been aware of an issue.
He added: "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.
"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."
He said two bed bugs were found on the 747, which, he said, was treated immediately.
Bed bugs are more usually found in mattresses, but they can travel on people’s clothing and in any soft furnishings and live up to a year without food.
As they are tiny, they can be hard to spot but are usually found hiding in the seams of fabric. Normally darkish brown in colour, they turn black after feeding on human blood.
In 2011, BA was forced to ground a 747 after a passenger claimed she was bitten by bed bugs on two separate flights.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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