British Airways has apologised to a family who say they were bitten by bed bugs while on a flight from Vancouver to London earlier this month.
Heather Szilagyi from New Westminister, Canada was on a flight with her young daughter and fiancé Eric Neilson when she noticed the bugs, CTV reported.
Ms Szilagyi said she alerted a flight attendant who was unable to move them.
"She was like, 'Oh ok, sorry about that. We're sold out. We don't have anywhere to move you'," Ms Szilagyi said she was told.
"It was nine hours of knowing that I was probably going to get bit, but not being sure," Ms Szilagyi said.
"But there wasn't really anything I could do about it. I was surprised I was able to relax, but what can you do?"
The following day, when the family had arrived at their final destination in Slovakia, Ms Szilagyi tried to phone the airline's customer service to ensure they would not be travelling on the same plane on their flight home.
When she could not get through, both Ms Szilagyi and Mr Neilson took to Twitter, posting photos of the bites.
"We were not asking for a refund. All we were asking for was a flight on a different plane, to make sure it was a different plane, to make sure that the plane that was infested with bed bugs was taken care of," she said.
A spokesperson for British Airways said the airline had been in contact with the customers to apologise and was investigating further.
"British Airways operates more than 280,000 flights every year, and reports of bed bugs on board are extremely rare," the spokesperson said.
"Nevertheless, we are vigilant and continually monitor our aircraft."
The airline reportedly upgraded the family to business class for their return flight.
Online, the couple were accused of lying about where they received the bites.
"It's horrible for me because all these people think that we're just wanting attention and wanting to sue a company, but this is not what I want to be known for," Ms Szilagyi said.
"I don't want to be 'bed bug girl.''"
