Brussels Airlines Terminates 3 Flight Attendants Who Refused To Work Over Bed Bug Fears

Brussels Airlines is refusing to back down after it terminated three veteran flight attendants for gross misconduct after they refused to work a recent long-haul flight over fears a plane was infested with bed bugs.

The airline, which is part of Germany’s Lufthansa Group, is now facing the threat of strike action, with two powerful unions demanding that the carrier reinstate the crew members or deal with a mass walkout.

The incident that led to the controversial dismissals occurred on October 16 as cabin cleaners were preparing one of the airline’s eleven Airbus A330 for a long-haul flight from Brussels to Accra, Ghana.

As is typical, the cleaning process was taking place during a relatively short turnaround process, and it was at this point that workers noticed what they thought might be bed bugs.

Engineers and managers were called in to investigate further, and it was determined that the bed bug reports were a false alarm.

By this point, however, the cabin crew due to work the flight to Accra had learned of the reports of bed bugs on board, and some were unhappy about the idea of getting on board a sealed plane for six and a half hours in close proximity to the blood sucking pests.

Despite reassurances from airline management, three of the flight attendants who had collectively worked for Brussels Airlines for 77 years refused to work the flight.

Under European aviation regulations, cabin crew are legally obligated not to work if they consider themselves to be ‘unfit.’ This could be as a result of physical sickness, tiredness, fatigue, or a mental health condition, including issues such as anxiety, which could lessen their ability to carry out safety-critical tasks.

Brussels Airlines, however, objected to the crew members’ self-reported ‘unfit’ status, and within days of the incident, they were hauled into a disciplinary hearing at the carrier’s headquarters.

A spokesperson for the airline has confirmed that the three members were terminated, saying in a statement: “We have dismissed the cabin crew members for gross misconduct, and this decision was taken after careful consideration.”

Two unions that represent cabin crew at Brussels Airlines are enraged by the decision and have demanded that the carrier reverse the decision. Last week, they gave the carrier seven days to respond to their demands or face a mass walkout.

Bedbugs feast on human blood with the tell-tale bite mark lines across limbs, abdomen, and back, a clear indication that this notoriously tricky pest has been responsible.

Bedbug infestations are notoriously difficult to get rid of – partly because the creatures, whose scientific name is Cinex lectularius, can live for months without feeding and are resistant to common insecticides.

Frequent travelers live with the fear of a bed bug in a hotel room hitching a ride in their luggage and causing an infestation in their own home. An incredibly expensive and difficult problem to solve once bed bugs have established themselves.

Unfortunately, it’s not just hotel rooms that travelers should be worried about encountering bed bugs.

In January, Turkish Airlines admitted that bedbugs are a ‘common problem’ after a New York Times report on an apparent bedbug infestation that affected several of the carrier’s planes servicing routes between its hub and the United States.

In domestic settings, extreme heat treatment is often the primary method to kill bedbugs, but this method can’t be used on commercial aircraft.