Detroit, Michigan – Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight Tuesday experienced a repulsive ordeal when maggots began to rain down on them from an overhead bin. The unsettling incident occurred after a fellow traveler brought rotting fish in their carry-on luggage on the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Passenger Philip Schotte recounted the chaos to WJBK-TV, describing how a woman across the aisle was trying to fend off the maggots, initially mistaking the situation for a prank. Schotte shared his own feelings of disgust and disbelief at the sight.
Upon discovering the source of the infestation, flight attendants traced the maggots back to an overhead compartment, where they found a decaying fish wrapped in newspaper inside a passenger’s bag. The airline confirmed the unpleasant discovery, acknowledging that the carry-on bag had been improperly packed.
As a result, the plane was forced to turn around just an hour after departure and return to Amsterdam, disrupting the travel plans of the passengers on board. The aircraft was subsequently taken out of service for cleaning as a precaution.
Flight tracking data from FlightAware revealed that the flight had departed from Amsterdam at 10:11 a.m. local time and returned less than two hours later. Meanwhile, Airlive, an aviation news site, reported that the offending carry-on bag was safely disposed of by burning it inside another bag.
The unsettling incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of properly packing and declaring items in carry-on luggage, as well as the potential consequences of failing to do so. The affected passengers were placed on the next available flight, as Delta Air Lines issued their apologies for the disruption caused by the improperly packed carry-on bag.