A United States international airport, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Hawaii’s largest airport, was closed after the discovery of bed bugs.
The Department of Transportation DOT) in a statement on Monday revealed that it received reports of pests in the E Gates of Terminal 2, reports USA TODAY. DOT staff went in to clean the area and remove anything that might have attracted the bugs that day.
A Southwest Airlines manager gave DOT a sample of the bugs, which were confirmed as bed bugs. DOT staff returned for deep cleaning, including carpet extraction and applying non-toxic pest control spray.
As of the time of going to press, the agency has not stated where the bed bugs originated from.
Three gates were shut down by the incident and remained closed through Wednesday night for additional cleaning by a pest control company.
However, no flights were impacted by the incident.
According to the agency, travelers may encounter intermittent gate closures over the next three weeks, as more cleaning measures will be implemented.
Southwest Airlines said it doesn’t anticipate the additional cleaning to cause any future disruptions for its flights.
This is not the first incident where airports have had bed bug infestations. At the Kansas City International Airport in 2018, bed bugs were found in upholstered chairs in a sitting area