Family sues Delta and KLM for US$200,000, claiming they were attacked by bed bug infestation on flight

A bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington on Wednesday, March 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

ATLANTA (WUPA) -- A Virginia family has filed a lawsuit against Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines after they claim they were bitten by bed bugs while onboard a flight.

In the complaint, which was filed on Dec. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the Albuquerque family states that a planned vacation from their Roanoke home to Belgrade, Serbia, ended with them being forced to dispose of their clothes and personal items due to the infestation.

According to the lawsuit, the family of four flew from Virginia to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson on March 21 and then boarded a KLM flight to Amsterdam. While the Dutch airline operated the flight, the ticket had been purchased through Delta’s SkyMiles program.

While sitting in business class, directly behind the first-class cabin, Lisandra Garcia started “feeling like bugs were crawling on her and that she was being bitten,” the lawsuit claims. When the couple alerted the flight attendants, they said that they were told to “keep their voices down to avoid a ‘panic’ on the airplane.”

“Prior to landing in Amsterdam, the flight attendants again urged Dr. Albuquerque and Mrs. Garcia not to tell anyone about the infestation because, if they did so, they would miss their connecting flight to Serbia,” the lawsuit reads. When they got off the flight, the flight attendants allegedly gave the family plastic bags to carry their personal belongings.

The lawsuit includes multiple photos of bugs on Garcia’s sweater, as well as what appears to be bugs on a napkin with the airline’s name on it.

According to the lawsuit, the Virginia family started getting bitten by bed bugs while on a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam. United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia Roanoke Division Afterwards, the family claims they learned that the flight attendants had filed a grievance with KLM because of the infestation.

After landing at their final destination the next day, the lawsuit claims that the four were left with welts, lesions, and rashes.

“The marks did not begin to fade until after the Albuquerque Family returned to the United States,” the lawsuit reads. “To this day, Mrs. Garcia has scars on her lower back where she was bitten.”

The lawsuit claims that the Albuquerque family was left with welts and rashes that didn’t go away until after they were back from vacation. United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The Albuquerques are asking the court to award them $200,000 and any other relief deemed just and proper for their injuries, medical expenses, and other damages.

A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines shared a comment about the lawsuit with CBS News Atlanta.

“As this pending litigation eventually states, the allegations at issue relate to flights not operated by Delta Air Lines,” the statement reads. “Delta will review the complaint and respond accordingly in due course.”

CBS News Atlanta has reached out to KLM for a statement and will update the story when they respond.

By Dan Raby, WUPA