Bed bug outbreak on flight from U.S. to London

A passenger was bitten by the parasites while 30,000 feet in the air.

Reports of bed bugs infesting the economy cabin of the British Airways 747 - which was flying from the U.S. to London's Heathrow airport - were so bad that cabin crew were forced to close one row.

"One passenger was nipped at 30,000ft and others saw the bugs and their eggs," The Sun reported.

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Despite cabin crew logging the issue, the plane was allowed to fly again from Cape Town to London, with airline engineers claiming they "did not have time to kill the creatures between flights".

The aircraft has since been fully fumigated.

"Reports of bed bugs on board are extremely rare. Nevertheless, we continually monitor our aircraft," a British Airways spokesman said.

This isn't the first time the airline has been forced to ground jets after reports of the creepy-crawlies on board.

In 2011, two jumbo jets were grounded after a passengers complained of being bitten by bed bugs during two separate long-haul flights.