Maggots on a Plane: Delta Flight Diverted After Passenger’s Bag Leaks

Airline passengers, already leery of rambunctious behavior and even real-life snakes on planes, may have yet one more thing to add to their list of potential in-flight disruptions: maggots. The wriggly white creatures of decay and waste have now made their way to the topic of flight disruptions.

On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines Flight 133 took off from Amsterdam, Netherlands, heading for Detroit, Michigan. “However, just one hour into the journey, the Airbus A330-300 turned back to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport after maggots reportedly fell onto a passenger from an overhead bin,” the Detroit TV station FOX 2 (WJBK) reported.

Philip Schotte, from Iowa, by way of the Netherlands, was on the flight and told WCAX-TV what happened. “She was asking what these black dots are on my lap,” Schotte said. Schotte told the station that the flight crew eventually traced the maggots to a passenger’s bag, which contained rotten fish wrapped in newspaper. The bag was moved to the back of the plane, and it was announced that the plane would return to Amsterdam.

Schotte eventually boarded another US-bound flight, which departed hours later. According to flight-tracking data from FlightAware, Flight 133 was airborne for only one hour and 49 minutes before returning.

Delta Air Lines confirmed to CNN that the flight had to return but did not answer questions regarding the maggots. The airline apologized to the customers on Flight 133 AMS-DTW and explained that the flight was disrupted by a handbag that was not properly packed. The aircraft was withdrawn from service for cleaning, and passengers were transferred to the next available flight.

As for perishable food, such as fish, there is no such ban on the board of the Delta aircraft, other than agriculture restrictions in the country of origin.