Airline Passengers Horrified As Bugs Fall From Overhead Compartments Before Takeoff

Passengers on board an Air Transat Canada airline were horrified after an army of bugs fell out of the overhead compartments of the plane. According to reports, the incident took place when the plane was about to take off from London Gatwick to Vancouver on Wednesday.

One passenger said dozens of cockroach-type insects fell into screaming flyers, while many were seen scattered along the aisle of the Boeing A300. Flight attendants reportedly told the passengers to squash them.

"A bug fell right down by my seat and another landed in the lap of the man next to me. The flight attendant told him to squash it. It was disgusting," Jenna Sullivan, 25, told U.K.'s Daily Mail. "Most of the bugs seem to be at the back of the plane, but others on board said they saw them running up the main aisle."

Another passenger, who did not want to be named, said: “It was mostly those sitting at the rear of the plane who were affected, but we all saw the pest control people come on board.”

After the cabin crew was alerted to the problem, pest control officers from the airline boarded the jet and sprayed pesticide on the seats. The captain of the plane announced all passengers would have to disembark the plane.

After a seven-hour delay, the airline announced the flight was canceled.

“The safety and comfort of our passengers is of paramount importance, and we are sorry for the delay to our flight to Vancouver which was due to the need to fumigate the aircraft,” airline representative Charlie Hampton told the New York Post in a statement. “Passengers were provided with hotel accommodation and meals, and we regret any inconvenience caused by the delay to their journey.”

Bug expert Alison Blackwell told the Daily Mail that the creatures were actually a type of scarab beetle.

Earlier this month, passengers on a United Airlines flight were shocked by an infestation of ants onboard the plane. Travelers started to notice the creepy-crawlies when the flight from Venice, Italy, to Newark, New Jersey, was still taxiing on the runway.