Delta Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are being sued by a family from Virginia for allegedly ruining their supposedly fun trip due to bed bugs.
A complaint filed by the Albuquerque family on 18 December, stating that a group of four from Virginia, including the husband, ophthalmologist Romulo Albuquerque, his wife Lisandra Garcia, and their two children, boarded a Delta Airline flight from Roanoke on 21 March, then landed in Atlanta, where they had a connecting flight via KLM to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to ride on another connecting flight to Belgrade, Serbia, their final destination for the trip.
The Albuquerques were going to meet up with family and friends in the capital city of Serbia.
The ophthalmologist, who happened to be a frequent flyer of Delta, booked the tickets with $8,800 (approximately £6,600) value through the airline's SkyMiles programme.
A Trip Gone Bad
According to a report from The Independent UK, the first part of their journey had no issues. But when they flew to Amsterdam onboard flight DL 9667, things started to turn bad.
'Approximately two hours into the flight, Mrs Garcia began feeling like bugs were crawling on her and that she was being bitten,' the complaint said. 'It was at this point that she realised that bugs were crawling on her light-colored sweater.'
The parents, seated on 12H and 12K, notified the cabin crew so they could address the situation. But, instead of doing something, the crew asked them to keep silent to avoid any commotion from the other passengers.
The flight continued, and so did the infestation. The couple took photos and videos of the insects crawling on Mrs Garcia's clothes and in their seats.
The entire Albuquerque family was bitten several times throughout the flight. 'Prior to landing in Amsterdam, the flight attendants again urged Dr Albuquerque and Mrs Garcia not to tell anyone about the infestation because, if they did so, they would miss their connecting flight to Serbia,' the complaint also stated.
The cabin crew only gave them plastic bags to store their personal belongings, then they boarded the KLM plane to Belgrade for two and a half hours. Despite transferring planes, the family still felt discomfort and itch due to the bed bug bites.
Aftermath of Bed Bug Infestation
The Albuquerques had to go through tedious processes to remove the bed bugs from their belongings while on vacation. They had to wash all their clothes in boiling water to kill the bugs, and had to visit doctors to get prescriptions for the itch.
The kids, who sat at the back of their parents, were prescribed topical steroids and an antihistamine due to the bug bites. The complaint also stated that the children underwent stress due to the embarrassment they felt in school when they arrived with visible welts and bite marks.
Because of their physical and mental discomforts and the medical expenses that piled up, they were seeking compensatory damages worth $200,000, with interest.
Airlines Responded
A spokesperson from Delta Airlines told People Magazine that they are looking into the complaint properly, even if the flights in question were not operated by their airline.
On the other hand, KLM told The Independent that they cannot comment on the allegations during that time, but they will have a discussion about it in the 'appropriate legal channels.'
