Bedbug scare in first class: American Airlines faces criticism
One American Airlines passenger shared his experience online during a first-class flight from New York to Detroit. According to him, a pleasant journey quickly turned into a nightmare.
The passenger was reading a book during the journey when he suddenly felt something strange on his leg and noticed a bedbug climbing up his pants. He described the incident on Reddit under the pseudonym @HaddawayThrowaway978, and the post quickly attracted a lot of attention from internet users.
According to the passenger, the crew did not adequately deal with the problem
The man was travelling in business class on Flight 4412 from La Guardia Airport when he noticed a small, brown bug.
"Found this bed bug crawling on my leg mid-flight," he wrote in the post, adding that he immediately showed the insect to a crew member and shared details of the conversation with the crew. The incident was reported to the captain, and the issue was reported to American Airlines through the official site.
The passenger pointed out that despite the reported situation, the airline did not seem very effective in dealing with the problem.
"I just checked and they turned the plane around on time, so I can't believe they cleaned it properly," he explained, expressing his concerns about whether the airplane was sufficiently cleaned before the next flight.
The traveller filed an official complaint with the airline
Concerned by the situation, the traveller feared that the bedbug might have gotten into his luggage or backpack. After landing, he promptly changed clothes and washed everything he had worn on the flight. He hoped that no bedbugs had clung to his luggage and said he planned to report the incident to American Airlines.
The airline responded to his complaint by sending an official email that apologized for the situation and granted him compensation. However, the response from American Airlines sounded formal and did not satisfy the traveller.
"We understand how uncomfortable this experience was. We do everything to ensure pleasant flights for our customers," the Reddit user quoted the American airline.
Comments under the forum post were full of outrage, with many people emphasizing that the threat from bedbugs is much more severe than, for example, the presence of a cockroach. "It's not just an unpleasant encounter; bedbugs can be a real problem at home," noted one commenter.
Experts in pest control recommend that passengers cover seats onboard, avoid placing their luggage directly on airplane floors, and bring pillows and blankets to minimize the risk of transferring insects.
According to specialists from the American EPA, adult bedbugs are the size of an apple seed and have a brown, flat shape. Meanwhile, young bedbugs, called nymphs, are much lighter and more transparent.
