When Your Flight is Crawling with Cockroaches

A pair of international flights en route to southern China inadvertently carried more than 100 unwelcomed guests.

According to the South China Morning Post, dozens of cockroaches were found onboard the Kunming-bound planes last week.

The incidents occurred October 13. However, it's unclear which airline or airlines were involved and where the flights originated.

A photo taken aboard one of the planes in Kunming Changshui International Airport showed the flight crew examining the infestation. The airport authority confirmed that pest control experts removed the cockroaches from both planes before fumigating the cabin, catering area, toilets and cargo hold.

Over 100 cockroaches found aboard two flights after landing in Kunming https://t.co/YiCAsTGF4x pic.twitter.com/jL8PKMKwsV

— Shanghaiist.com (@shanghaiist) October 16, 2017

The airport's Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau are now studying the insects for potential pathogens.

The insects were identified as German cockroaches, which are usually about a half-inch long and tan in color. According to the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, the German cockroach is the most common species found in houses, apartments, restaurants and hotels.

"Disease-producing organisms such as bacteria, protozoans, and viruses have been found on cockroach bodies," the college states. "Different forms of gastroenteritis (food poisoning, dysentery, diarrhea, and other illnesses) appear to be the principal diseases transmitted by German cockroaches."

The unpleasant report comes just days after a mother and daughter were bitten by bed bugs from their seats on a British Airways flight from Vancouver to London.

READ MORE: Scorpion Stings Passenger on Flight to Chicago

In addition to bed bugs, scorpions, bees and snakes, add cockroaches to the ever-growing list of uninvited critters that have made their way onto a plane recently.

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