This sounds like an absolutely awful flight, and I can’t help but wonder just how widespread this issue was…
In this post:
Family sues Delta & KLM over bed bug infestation
On December 18, 2025, a lawsuit was filed against Delta and KLM, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. This involves a trip that a family living in Virginia took on March 21, 2025, as they traveled on Delta from Roanoke (ROA) to Atlanta (ATL), and then on KLM to Amsterdam (AMS) and then Belgrade (BEG).
The family of four (a father, mother, and two sons) booked their tickets via Delta, and even redeemed Delta SkyMiles, which is why Delta is also a defendant in the lawsuit. While they used miles for their flights, they claim the tickets had a face value of $8,800.
The family claims that they flew in business class, but that’s not the case. Instead, they flew in KLM’s premium economy cabin. We know this based on the pictures they posted from the cabin, based on the seat numbers they were in (12H & 12K, and 14H & 14K), and because they claimed they were seated immediately behind first class (which KLM doesn’t have).
Approximately two hours into the flight, the mother felt like bugs were crawling on her, and she had been bitten. So they immediately alerted the crew, who allegedly urged the family to keep their voices down to avoid “panic” on the airplane.
Somehow everyone in the family was bitten by the bed bugs. The family claims that before landing, the crew urged them not to say anything about the situation to others, or else they may miss their connecting flight to Belgrade. However, the family did later learn that the crew at least reported the situation to the airline.
Upon landing in Amsterdam, the family placed their belongings in plastic bags (provided by the KLM crew), and then took their connecting flight to Belgrade.
Family demands $200K for suffering, ruined trip
When the family arrived in Belgrade, they washed all their clothes in boiling water. The father then called a friend who is a doctor, to ask about the best way to treat this. He ended up purchasing topical solutions to assist with itchiness and discomfort.
However, the recovery process was slow, and the bites produced large welts, especially on the children, including on their necks, torsos, legs, and arms.
The family claims that due to visible marks on their skin and unrelenting itchy feelings, they weren’t able to enjoy their vacation, and the marks didn’t even begin to fade until after they returned home. To this day, the mother has scars on her lower back where she was bitten.
Per the lawsuit, “the Plaintiffs have suffered personal injuries, rashes, discomfort, itching, pain and suffering, inconvenience, anxiety, mental anguish, anger, fear, humiliation, and embarrassment.” They’ve also incurred medical expenses, and have had to dispose of clothing. As a result, the family is requesting damages of $200K.
My take on this wild bed bug situation & lawsuit
I think the pictures speak for themselves — clearly this was an absolutely wild bed bug infestation. That being said, am I the only one who is curious about the logistics here, given that all four people seemed to be impacted.
Did the other passengers seated nearby not report similar issues, or how was it that this situation was just isolated to them? You’d think there would’ve been total chaos in the cabin if this were a widespread problem.
Furthermore, these blankets were presumably all cleaned at a facility in Atlanta via a third party handler, so one wonders how widespread the bed bug infestation was. Presumably this could’ve happened on any airline, and wasn’t due to any particular negligence on the part of KLM (which of course doesn’t absolve the airline of responsibility, but…).
I imagine some people will take issue with how the KLM crew handled this, though practically speaking:
- I suspect they wanted to avoid panic in the cabin because the flight would’ve then likely diverted, and I’m not sure that would’ve been in anyone’s best interest
- The crew likely told them not to say much about this in Amsterdam, so that they wouldn’t be denied boarding on the connecting flight to Belgrade
Now, arguably the crew wasn’t looking out for other passengers by taking that approach, but I do see where they were coming from, and don’t think that approach was out of laziness, or anything.
Whatever happened, it was no doubt absolutely terrible for the family, and I can see how it ruined their trip. What’s fair compensation in such a situation, though? I dunno. $200K seems a little steep here, but I also get that the issue here is that the airlines have otherwise been unwilling to settle, so they’re going all-in on a lawsuit that’s for a substantial amount.
Bottom line
A family had a pretty unfortunate transatlantic KLM flight, as they were attacked by bed bugs. Bed bugs do sometimes make their way into airplane bedding, though it’s kind of shocking how all family members had this issue, while there are no obvious reports of there being similar issues among other passengers.
The family’s trip was ruined, which I can understand. They’re now requesting a $200K judgment for the ruined trip and suffering, among other things.
What do you make of this KLM bed bug lawsuit?
The "inconvenience, anxiety, mental anguish, anger, fear, humiliation, and embarrassment" part made me outright lol, and that's not a hyperbole. Grow up. It's unpleasant, but on the scale of crap that can happen in your life it's an inconvenience at most.
In any case, we live in this world alongside insects. I don't see how airline is responsible for evolution of our ecosystem. No matter how many precautions you take, if another passenger infects the...
The "inconvenience, anxiety, mental anguish, anger, fear, humiliation, and embarrassment" part made me outright lol, and that's not a hyperbole. Grow up. It's unpleasant, but on the scale of crap that can happen in your life it's an inconvenience at most.
In any case, we live in this world alongside insects. I don't see how airline is responsible for evolution of our ecosystem. No matter how many precautions you take, if another passenger infects the flight with bed bugs, they're gonna spread.
Did the other passengers seated nearby not report similar issues, or how was it that this situation was just isolated to them?
This is the million dollar question. If it was isolated to just the family more likely than not they are the source of the bed bugs
Little suss that only this family was affected.
finally someone who can read.
It's definitely worth investigating further to see if they unknowingly brought them onto the aircraft and explore all possibilities.
It may have just so happened that the flight is where it occurred, but not the true root cause.
15,000 Skypesos as a courtesy gesture and they'll be made whole.
Very odd that the bedbugs were only on the 4 seats. If other passengers had been bitten surely one would have noticed the scratching or even a commotion.
I’d think that this family brought the insects on board either from their previous flight or from somewhere at the airport.
Then not being able to differentiate between business & Premium Economy which was surely printed on their tickets or boarding passes gives the story an odd taste.
"The crew likely told them not to say much about this in Amsterdam, so that they wouldn’t be denied boarding on the connecting flight to Belgrade"
Awesome, spread it to another aircraft.
Considering that nobody else on the KLM flight seemed to be bitten, one can only wonder if the bugs were picked up at home, considering that bedbug welts usually don’t appear for quite some time.
This happened to me on an american domestic flight. I think this is more common then we realize, given how easily spread this creatures are and how infrequently airplanes are taken out of service.
In my situation, I didn’t realize I had started to itch until I was walking through baggage claim… and even then it took me getting to my hotel before the full realization kicked in… I had been eaten alive while...
This happened to me on an american domestic flight. I think this is more common then we realize, given how easily spread this creatures are and how infrequently airplanes are taken out of service.
In my situation, I didn’t realize I had started to itch until I was walking through baggage claim… and even then it took me getting to my hotel before the full realization kicked in… I had been eaten alive while I was resting on the plane during my early early morning flight.
But unless you catch it in the moment and find the bugs for photos… good luck having any kind of claim.
200K is ridiculous, however given how rare it is to catch the bugs in the act on the airplane…. 200K might help send a message to clean their planes up for the rest of us.
The pictures are pretty bad. But why would there be humiliation and embarrassment?
On a side note, on my BOM-AMS flight from October, my seat won't stay reclined. It will recline but as soon as it flattens, it'll start to go back up again. An FA tried to fix it but didn't work, finally he was able to do something that made it stay flat but I was told not to touch recline buttons...
The pictures are pretty bad. But why would there be humiliation and embarrassment?
On a side note, on my BOM-AMS flight from October, my seat won't stay reclined. It will recline but as soon as it flattens, it'll start to go back up again. An FA tried to fix it but didn't work, finally he was able to do something that made it stay flat but I was told not to touch recline buttons until I am ready to seat up again. No apology from the crew or KLM. Not a big deal, at max inconvenience but considering what I paid, I think I at least deserved an apology
The humiliation and embarrassment comes from being a family of tourists out in public that look like they may be carrying a transmittable disease. People are going to stare at you and avoid you. Can you imagine going to the beach or using a hotel swimming pool?
Couple notes:
(1) Delta is a *defendant*, not a plaintiff.
(2) I imagine Delta/KLM will drag their relevant vendor(s) into the case, in the event the bedbugs are tied to the blanket launderers or whatever (you'd have to think DL/KLM would have an indemnification clause in that contract, but I'd have no idea whether or not it was enforceable here).
(3) $200k is a pretty low claim, all things considered.
(4) There's...
Couple notes:
(1) Delta is a *defendant*, not a plaintiff.
(2) I imagine Delta/KLM will drag their relevant vendor(s) into the case, in the event the bedbugs are tied to the blanket launderers or whatever (you'd have to think DL/KLM would have an indemnification clause in that contract, but I'd have no idea whether or not it was enforceable here).
(3) $200k is a pretty low claim, all things considered.
(4) There's no way this was limited to just this family. But I imagine KLM isn't in the business of providing their passenger information to other passengers, so identifying any of them would be its a whole discovery fight. So unless the family got the contact info from other passengers during the flight, I imagine they'd have a hard time getting that info.
Disclaimer: While I am a lawyer, I am not a Virginia lawyer, so some or all of this may not be relevant in that jurisdiction.
Also, getting a photo of the bedbugs on a KLM napkin is just *chef's kiss.* What a Plaintiff's Exhibit #1 lol.
Just a comment on the lawsuit amount. The asking price is always overstated in a lawsuit. Realistically it gets lowered later during litigation and or settlement. You never ask for the amount you get or else you won’t enough.
KLM has in cabin rats and now this? -- ugh. Air india vibes
Two factoids to bear in mind.
1, Aircraft fly to various locales. This aircraft might have recently been in a locale where bedbugs are prevalent.
2, The family was probably sitting in adjacent seats so it is understandable that the family might have been more likely to be affected.
Wait, KLM struggling to do basic pest control and sanitation? That surely has not happened before no?
Ben, I still remember when you insisted than having their lounge in AMS swarmed with mice was completely normal and therefor they were still deserving of receiving four stars! Is that perception changing now?
YIKES, Delta! (and KLM)
What about the other pax? I don't think that it's only limited to this family of 4?
Lucky is very very carefully suggesting this is fraud (with plausible deniability). I tend to agree.