Maggots that had fallen from an overhead bin onto passengers forced a Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit to make an unscheduled landing. The carry-on luggage of a traveller was found to contain decaying fish, which was the source of the maggots.
All passengers were told to get off the plane as it landed, and the fish-filled baggage was carefully bagged and disposed of. In addition, a number of intensive cleaning operations were carried out to completely disinfect the aircraft.
The Daily Mail said that the person whose bag caused the revolting incident was taken into custody.
“So I was on this unfortunate flight lol. My family and I were in the row directly in front of the maggots. The lady right behind us told the flight attendants the maggots were falling on her head. Ugh. I turned around and they were wiggling around on the seat. They moved us further in front though,” one of the travellers wrote on Reddit.
As compensation, travellers were given 8,000 air miles, hotel room accommodation, and a $30 meal voucher if they were delayed overnight, another passenger told the Mail.
In a statement, the airline apologised to the passengers.
“We apologise to the customers of Flight 133 AMS-DTW as 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,” Delta said.