Family suing major airline after flight was allegedly ‘infested’ with bedbugs: ‘Itchy welts, lesions and rashes’
The family members allegedly suffered bed bug bites on their legs, arms, and torsos. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
A Virginia family says they were left with “itchy welts, lesions, and rashes” after taking an international flight operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which they allege was “infested” with bed bugs, according to a new lawsuit.
Romulo Albuquerque and his wife filed suit last week against KLM and their travel partner Delta Air Lines, claiming that they and their two children were bitten by the pests during a flight purchased through Delta.
The family said the bites occurred on their international journey to Serbia on March 21. Their trip began with a Delta flight from Roanoke, Va., followed by a connecting KLM flight in Atlanta that stopped in Amsterdam before reaching Belgrade, Serbia, according to court documents.
Both legs of the trip were operated by KLM, and the family used Delta’s SkyMiles program to book the tickets. About two hours into the flight to Amsterdam, Albuquerque’s wife reportedly felt “bugs crawling on her” and realized she was being bitten, the lawsuit states.
“She noticed bugs crawling on her light-colored sweater,” the complaint says.
The couple alerted flight attendants, who allegedly told them to keep quiet to avoid causing a “panic” on the plane, according to the suit.
Albuquerque documented the situation with photos and videos showing bugs on his wife’s sweater and hiding in the seat creases. The images, included in the complaint, show small, bloodied mites on a KLM drink napkin, as well as red, irritated bites on the arms, legs, and torsos of all four family members.
The lawsuit claims the bites “ruined their family vacation” and caused “humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety, discomfort, inconvenience, medical expenses, and loss of clothing and personal items.”
The family is seeking at least $200,000 in compensatory damages from both airlines.
Delta told PEOPLE magazine that the “allegations at issue relate to flights not operated by Delta Air Lines” and said it is reviewing the complaint. KLM told The Independent it is “unable to comment on the specific allegations at this time” but will respond through “the appropriate legal channels.”
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