Airline passengers were left horrified this week after maggots started raining down on them from overhead lockers – forcing their plane to turn back.
Travellers on board a transatlantic flight from the Netherlands to the US were minding their own business when the filthy fly larvae began to flow out of a compartment above – leaving one unfortunate woman “trying to fight [them] off”.
The Delta Air Lines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit had barely made it a couple of hours into its nine-hour voyage when the carry-on bag was located by staff.
Upon closer inspection, the luggage was found to contain a rotten fish wrapped in newspaper – a prime target for the maggots, which had been multiplying in the festering meat as the flight went on.
The maggots had been multiplying in the festering meat as the flight went on
Wikimedia Commons/Canva
Flight attendants had scoured the cabin for the source of the pests, before the owner stood up to claim the offending article, which had begun to stink.
Passengers’ troubles were only compounded when the flight’s pilot announced the aircraft would be doing a 180 and returning to Amsterdam.
The plane was subsequently evacuated and deep-cleaned, while customers were forced on to later flights.
The repulsive bag was then removed and destroyed by flight attendants – it is unknown whether any action was taken against its owner, who was told to stay behind after the flight returned.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Maggots like the ones discovered in the cabin can carry a range of diseases
Wikimedia Commons
Philip Schotte, a Dutch man who lives in Iowa, was seated opposite the incident, and detailed his experience to Fox 2 Detroit.
Schotte said: “She was freaking out – she was just trying to fight off these maggots.
“I don’t really know what was going through my mind… I was trying to process it – disgust is one thing of course… We had to wait there for help.”
“I did see everyone’s reaction to the bag being opened, which was just an immediate pinching of the nose.”Delta issued a statement apologising to passengers for the experience, which said: “Their trip was interrupted due to an improperly packed carry-on bag.
“The aircraft returned to the gate and passengers were placed on the next available flight. The aircraft was removed from service for cleaning.”
The pilot was justified in taking the decision to turn around; maggots like the ones discovered in the cabin can carry a range of diseases, including E.coli and Salmonella.
Such bacteria can cause diarrhoea and vomiting – the last thing the airline needed, after another Delta flight from Georgia to Barcelona was grounded last year following a “biohazard” involving one passenger’s diarrhoea in the aisle.