(WWJ) - An international flight bound for Detroit Metro Airport was forced to turn around when maggots began raining down on passengers from the overhead cabin on Tuesday.
Delta Flight DL133 had taken off from Amsterdam and was headed to Detroit when it adjusted its course and flew back to Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands after an hour in the air on Tuesday, February 13, The Daily Mail reported.
The reason? Maggots.
According to the Daily Mail, the bugs managed to hitch a ride in a suitcase containing rotten fish in the overhead compartment. When the bin busted open, maggots reportedly began falling on passengers seated in economy.
Flight tracker FlightAware showed that the plane in question only made it as far as England before it turned around and went back to Amsterdam.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Delta acknowledged the incident.
“We apologize to the customers of Flight 133 on Feb. 13 as their trip was interrupted due to an improperly packed carry-on bag,” the statement said. “The aircraft returned to the gate and customers were placed on the next available flight. The aircraft was removed from service for cleaning.”
The affected suitcase's owner was identified while the rotten bag was reportedly taken away to be burned.
It wasn't immediately clear if the passenger who had the fish faced any consequences.
One passenger who reportedly sat a row in front of the incident took to Reddit to say the fish was packed in newspaper, but that didn't stop maggots from falling on and wiggling all over the seats.
"My family and I were in the row directly in front of the maggots," the Reddit user wrote. "The lady right behind us told the flight attendants the maggots were falling on her head. Ugh. I turned around and they were wiggling around on the seat.
They moved us further in front though. One of our carry-on bags was right nearby the disgusting one so at the end of the flight when I went to get it after checking it over thoroughly, the passenger in question was still sitting there and didn't exit the plane," the post read.
The passenger finished by calling the incident, "absolutely gross."
According to another passenger, Delta compensated guests on the affected flight with 8,000 air miles, hotel room compensation and a $30 meal ticket if they were delayed until the next day.
Per Delta's Air Policy, guests are permitted to bring food onboard aircraft, so long as it’s packaged properly and complies with the regulatory limit for liquids.