Qantas has taken a Boeing 787 Dreamliner out of service in Rome after bedbugs were discovered in the economy section of a flight from Perth, forcing the cancellation of its return service.

The insects were found in the front section of economy class as the aircraft operated Qantas flight QF5 from Perth to Rome on 9 October, a source familiar with the incident confirmed on Tuesday.

The aircraft was taken out of service for a deep clean after arriving in the Italian capital, leading to the cancellation of the Rome-to-Perth flight scheduled for 10 October, the Sydney Morning Herald first reported.

A Qantas spokesperson said the service was cancelled to allow engineers and maintenance teams to conduct a thorough cleaning after “an issue identified on a small number of economy seats”.

The airline apologised to passengers for the disruption. Affected travellers were provided with accommodation and rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure, Qantas said.

The airline said its aircraft cabins were cleaned regularly to an extremely high standard, with disinfectant treatment carried out every 50 days as a precautionary measure.

Michelle Power, a parasitologist at Macquarie University, said the bedbugs had “more than likely” entered the aircraft in a passenger’s luggage or on their clothing before spreading into the cabin.

“People may go to a hotel that’s infested and because they like dark spaces and are attracted to the smell of human clothes, they make their way into someone’s luggage,” she said.

Describing bedbugs as flightless insects that rely on human travel to spread, Power said they were not dangerous, although their bites could cause itching and irritation.

However, they are notoriously difficult to eradicate and can remain hidden in bedsheets and small crevices for long periods without feeding.

Power said bedbugs also highlighted inequalities in people’s ability to deal with infestations. Frequent travellers with greater financial resources may inadvertently spread them between locations, while people facing economic hardship may struggle to afford pesticides or heat water to the 55C needed to kill the insects.