“The bugs just kept coming,” she told 9News. “They were in my husband’s shoes, crawling up our legs, crawling on our jumpers.”

Another passenger, who was not named, told the broadcaster they were awakened by screams from fellow travellers.

“I was woken by screaming, a baby saying ‘buggies’ – some children were sick,” the passenger said.

The aircraft was subsequently removed from service. Qantas cancelled the return Rome-to-Perth flight to allow engineers and maintenance staff to carry out a deep clean.

“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,” the airline said in a statement to the BBC.

Affected passengers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on alternative services, with some travellers reportedly delayed by up to two days.

Qantas said its aircraft undergo regular cleaning and are disinfected every 50 days as a precaution, reported News.com.au.

Bed bugs are small parasitic insects that feed on blood and whose bites can leave itchy red marks.

Infestations on aircraft do not necessarily mean there is poor hygiene. Prabin Shrestha, chief executive of cleaning company SKG Services, told News.com.au that bed bugs are often unknowingly transported by passengers.

“They can be carried on to an aircraft through passengers’ luggage, clothing or other personal belongings,” he said.

Bed bugs have previously been reported on international flights, including services operated by British Airways in 2017 and Turkish Airlines in 2024.