Last year, several debates took place online over questionable moves by airlines during flights. Delta in particular sparked outrage online over a passenger losing a first-class seat over a dog that was sitting in a bulkhead spot.
The latest online debate was sparked by Turkish Airlines. It wasn’t because of just one incident, but multiple cases of bedbugs. Turkish Airlines hasn’t made things any better thus far, deflecting the claims and offering questionable discounts in return.
Let’s take a closer look at three separate incidents that took place on Turkish Airlines, and how the staff reacted to the influx of bedbugs.
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Turkish Airlines Crew Brushed Off Concerns Of Bedbugs
It is starting to become a recurring issue on Turkish Airlines flights, bedbugs crawling on the seats and falling from the cabin. What has the airline said in response? Nothing. Instead, they continue to deflect and brush off the issue.
Speaking with The New York Times, Patience Titcombe discussed about her personal experience with the airline. After noticing a bug crawling up her seat, she was simply dismissed by the flight attendant, who got rid of the insect without saying anything else.
Titcombe revealed, “I almost flicked it away. But my friend stopped me and said, ‘That’s a bedbug.’”
Titcombe posted the photos of the bedbugs in a Facebook travel group. This prompted others to post about similar encounters while flying with Turkish Airlines.
As expected, Turkish Airlines did not issue a statement with regard to the recent allegations.
Another Passenger Was Offered A 10% Discount Over A Bedbug Incident On Turkish Airlines
In October, passenger Matthew Myers faced similar circumstances on a flight from Istanbul to San Francisco on a Turkish Airlines flight. Myers was tapped by a passenger who alerted him to the bedbugs crawling on his seat and falling from the plane cabin.
“Multiple passengers were asking to move seats after discovering bugs,” the passenger tells the Times.
Even when passengers switched seats, bedbugs continued to fall. This time, the flight attendant filed a complaint, leading to a 10% discount on future flights, valid through the end of the year.
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Turkish Airlines Demanded A Medical Report After A Passenger Took Photos Of 13 Bug Bites
In the same month, during late October, Kristin Bourgeois saw bedbugs around the plane during a 10-hour flight between D.C. and Istanbul.
She tells the New York Times, “Before departure, I noticed a bug crawling on my blanket. “When I found another on the pillow, I realized it was a bedbug.”
After the flight, Bourgeois filed a complaint against the airline for 13 bug bites. The response was a request for a medical report approved by a doctor, along with a signature, stamp and date.
A back-and-forth would ensue between the two sides, with Turkish Airlines saying they could not find her flight history, which she later noticed had been removed from the airline’s app. After the confusion, her flight was apparently found, and she was offered 5,000 frequent flier miles.
From frequent flier miles to limited-time discounts on flights, did Turkish Airlines do enough? What are your thoughts?