An outbreak of bed bugs on board a Qantas flight from Perth has caused chaos for passengers, with some facing delays of up to two days after planes were grounded.

Passengers on board Qantas flight QF5 from Perth to Rome last Friday complained of being bitten to cabin crew, with those impacted being provided with antihistamines until supplies ran out, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner then did not travel the return flight the following day to allow for a “deep clean” of the aircraft.

QF6 from Rome to Perth was cancelled and passengers re-booked on alternative flights within 48 hours of the original departure times.

Passengers were provided with accommodation in the interim.

A Qantas spokesperson told PerthNow the outbreak impacted a “small number” of seats.

“We sincerely apologise to customers for the cancellation of Saturday’s Rome to Perth service, which allowed our engineers and maintenance teams to carry out a deep clean of the aircraft after an issue was identified on a small number of economy seats.”

Aircraft disinsections —a procedure to remove disease-carrying insect vectors— occur every 50 days as a precautionary cleaning measure.

Bed bugs are small parasitic insects which feed on the blood of humans while they sleep, NSW Health said.

“Bed bugs are not considered as a public health hazard,” their website read.

“They are not known to spread disease, but can cause annoyance due to itching and loss of sleep.

“Sometimes itching can lead to excessive scratching and a chance of secondary skin infection.”

The Qantas outbreak is not the first time bed bugs have been found on aircraft.

In 2017, a Canadian family travelling from Vancouver to London on a British Airways flight were bitten, reported the BBC.