Reports of bed bugs on Perth to Rome Qantas flight prompt warning

Key points

• Qantas has cancelled a Rome to Perth service and is investigating after passengers reported itchy bites on a flight from Perth to Rome. The plane was grounded in Rome, and passengers were given accommodation and rebooked on other flights within two days.
• Qantas said engineers carried out a deep clean after an issue was found on a small number of economy seats.
• Bed bug expert Stephen Doggett said such incidents are not common but do occur, and that the insects are hard to remove from aircraft.