Passengers say Turkish Airlines flights have unwelcome guests – bedbugs

Shortly after boarding her Turkish Airlines flight from Johannesburg to Istanbul in March, Ms Patience Titcombe from Phoenix noticed a small bug crawling on her seat when she got up to use the restroom. “I almost flicked it away,” she said, “But my friend stopped me and said, ‘That’s a bedbug.’” Titcombe, 36, who had experience with the bugs when she lived in Philadelphia, realised her friend was right and photographed the bug on her seat. She then called over the flight attendant, who disposed of the bug. When Titcombe and her friend confronted the flight attendant about it being a bedbug, she said, the attendant dismissed their concern. “I had to strip down at the airport and change clothes because I have kids – what if I brought bedbugs home?” Titcombe said. She added that her complaints to Turkish Airlines after her flight were met with denials, despite her photographic evidence. After posting about her experience on multiple social media channels, Titcombe said other users in a Facebook travel group reported similar experiences. In October 2024, two other travellers said they encountered bedbugs on the airline’s flights. For airline passengers, there are rules surrounding issues such as delays and cancellations, but not for insect infestations. Their main recourse is through airlines’ customer service departments or, failing that, small claims court. Turkish Airlines did not return multiple requests for comment. Bedbugs are a recurring issue in travel. In late 2023, Paris faced a widespread outbreak at the height of its annual Fashion Week, when the bugs were seen on public transit and in other places. That year, South Korea launched a nationwide prevention campaign targeting transportation hubs.<br/>