Qantas cancelled a Rome to Perth flight to clean a 787 after economy passengers reported bedbug bites
Qantas cancelled its 10 October Rome to Perth flight and rebooked affected passengers within 48 hours after economy customers reported bedbug bites on a 787. The reports do not show what it cost or that reputation drove the choice.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
Key figures: Qantas says passengers of the cancelled flight were rebooked on other flights within 48 hours. The Australia to Italy flight on which bites were reported lasted 17 hours. Qantas says it disinfects its aircraft every 50 days as a precaution.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebooked on other flights within, per Qantas | 48 hours | 5 | |
| Australia-Italy flight | 17 hours | 1 | |
| Qantas disinfects its aircraft every | 50 days | as a precaution, Qantas says | 6 |
What happened
- The outbound Boeing 787 was on a 17-hour flight on 9 October when the complaints reached the crew, a Qantas spokesperson said.
- Qantas grounded the aircraft for a deep clean after the long-haul flight arrived in Rome.
- Passengers on the 9 October flight were given antihistamines, but the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the supply on the plane ran out.
- Qantas launched the non-stop Perth to Rome service in 2022, the first non-stop flight between Australia and continental Europe by any airline.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction The Independent calls the work a deep clean, while the Straits Times says the 787 required fumigation. The two imply different downtime, and neither report says when the aircraft flew again.
- What it costs cost Qantas carries hotel bills, replacement seats on other flights and a cancelled rotation on a route the Herald said draws passengers who pay a premium for the non-stop.
- Who's exposed exposure A bedbug complaint can become a lawsuit. A family suing KLM and Delta alleges injury from an infested cabin, and Delta says the flights were not ones it operated.
- What it sets up precedent Qantas has put a 48-hour rebooking window on the record through the Herald. In our view, a second grounding on this route would be judged against that window.
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Qantas's own account frames the cancellation as the means to a maintenance end. The spokesperson said, "We sincerely apologise to customers for the cancellation of Saturday's Rome to Perth service", and described the cancellation as having allowed engineers and maintenance teams to carry out a deep clean after an issue on "a small number of economy seats" [3]. That is a maintenance rationale, and it is the only reason either report attributes to Qantas.
The alternative was to operate the 10 October service on an aircraft where passengers had reported bites the day before [1][2]. Qantas did not take it [2]. In our view, flying would have put a second load of passengers into the same cabin with the airline already on notice, and turned a one-flight problem into a two-flight one.
Qantas located the issue on a small number of seats [3], yet the whole aircraft was grounded [2]. The health pages the two outlets quote suggest why a seat-level fix would be hard to trust. Bedbugs spend much of their time in crevices, according to the Independent [7]. The Singapore HealthHub page cited by the Straits Times says they are not drawn to dirt and have been found in five-star hotels [8]. The Victorian government's Better Health Channel, quoted by the Independent, says bedbugs are not believed to transmit diseases [9]. In our view that makes passenger experience the likelier driver of a full cancellation. It is an inference from the health pages, and neither report tests it.
Prevention and detection are separate in the record. Qantas says it cleans its aircraft regularly and disinfects them every 50 days as a precaution [6]. Under that schedule, the only detection the reports describe came from economy passengers who had already been bitten and told the crew [1].
What to watch
- Whether Qantas states when the 787 returned to service and how many passengers the Rome to Perth cancellation affected.
- Whether further bedbug complaints surface on Qantas 787s, since a second grounding would test the 48-hour rebooking standard.
- How the KLM and Delta lawsuit proceeds, because Delta's position that it did not operate the flights shows how partners divide responsibility.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence66
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence68
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 0%
- Operator
- Operator 72%
- Investor
- Investor 28%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
A Qantas Boeing 787 was operating a 17-hour flight from Australia to Italy on 9 October when passengers in the economy section complained to crew that they had been bitten by bedbugs, a Qantas spokesperson said.
- [2]
The aircraft was grounded for a deep clean after the long-haul flight arrived in Rome, leading to the cancellation of the return flight scheduled for 10 October.
- [3]
A Qantas spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise to customers for the cancellation of Saturday's Rome to Perth service", and described the cancellation as having allowed 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".
- [4]
Customers affected by the cancellation were reportedly provided accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their scheduled departure.
- [5]
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Qantas as saying that passengers affected by the flight cancellation were provided with accommodation and rebooked on other flights within 48 hours of their original departure.
- [6]
Qantas says it cleans its aircraft regularly and disinfects them every 50 days as a precaution.
- [7]
Bedbugs spend much of their time in crevices and can travel on items like clothing, suitcases and bedding.
- [8]
According to Singapore's HealthHub website, bedbugs are not drawn to dirt and grime and have been found in five-star hotels; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide.
- [9]
The Victorian government's Better Health Channel website says bedbugs are not believed to transmit diseases to humans.
- [10]
Qantas launched its non-stop Perth to Rome service in 2022, the first non-stop flight between Australia and continental Europe by any airline, according to a Qantas press statement of September 2025.
- [11]
The Sydney Morning Herald said the Perth-Rome route is popular with passengers who are willing to pay a premium for the non-stop flight.
- [12]
In December 2025 a family flying from the US to Europe on a KLM flight sued KLM and its American partner Delta Air Lines, alleging they were bitten and injured by bedbugs that had infested the cabin.
- [13]
Delta told People magazine that the allegations relate to flights not operated by Delta Air Lines.
- [14]
The Straits Times reported that the aircraft was taken out of service during the deep clean to remove the bedbugs, as it required fumigation.
- [15]
Passengers on the 9 October flight were given antihistamines, but the medications on the plane reportedly ran out, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on 12 October.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- en.sedaily.comBed Bugs Found on Qantas Flight to Rome Ground Dreamliner: Bed Bugs on Qantas Flight to Rome Ground Dreamliner
1 article · October 14, 2026
- independent.co.ukPassengers stranded in Italy after bedbug outbreak grounds long-haul flight to Australia
1 article · October 12, 2026
- straitstimes.comQantas plane grounded after bed bug bites on flight
1 article · October 12, 2026
- theguardian.comBedbug infestation forces Qantas to ground plane in Rome
1 article · October 12, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Air travel passenger experience
- Airline Operations
Entities
- Boeing 787 Dreamliner
- Sydney Morning Herald
- Delta Air Lines