Passengers on multiple Air India flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey have reported being bit by bed bugs over the past week.
Pravin Tonsekar posted a photo of multiple bed bugs, claiming the business class seats he and his family were sitting in on their 17-hour flight to Mumbai were “infested with bed bugs.”
Toneskar continued to accuse the airline of an unsatisfactory trip, tweeting that his wife and daughters “had to suffer half of the journey sitting in economy seats with broken tables and inoperative TV” after the flight crew moved them because of the bed bugs.
Another passenger, Vivek Modi, said he could see bed bugs crawling around on the seats, the Hindustan Times reported.
Air India reached out to Toneskar, who said both of his daughters were bitten “all over their bodies,” to offer an apology.
“We are sorry to hear this, Mr. Pravin. Sharing the details with our maintenance team for corrective measures in this regard,” the airline tweeted.
Two days later, a passenger, Rohan, heading to Mumbai from New Jersey on Air India tweeted, “my wife and three kids [flew] business class AI 144 from Newark to mumbai; now they have bed bug bites all over their body; is this what we paid $10,000 for???”
Rohan said once he got to India, a doctor prescribed his wife 10 days of medication for the bed bug bites.
On Thursday, passengers on a different Air India plane, also heading to Mumbai, had bed bug bites – including an 8-month-old, who allegedly suffered multiple bites during the flight.
After the reports, Air India grounded both of the planes for fumigation.
According to NJ.com, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the agency has not received reports of bed bugs in the terminal or other parts of the airport.
Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
