Bug curtain might remove sting from air travel

Did you hear about the man who got stung when he checked in for his flight in New Zealand?

It wasn't that his seat was given away. Or that the flight got canceled. Or that he was overcharged for his luggage. It was a scorpion who caused it. And the man almost went under Down Under.

According to an Associated Press news story, the arachnid was probably an alien and entered the country illegally because New Zealand is scorpion-free.

This isn't the first scorpion to fly without a ticket.

Earlier this year, another scorpion, who had settled into a passenger's backpack in Costa Rica, decided to make his point on the backpack owner's knee on a flight from Miami to Toronto.

Paramedics met the flight and treated the patient, which no doubt frightened a few other passengers away who were waiting in the gate area to board the same aircraft.

Another passenger last January was quietly eating his curds and whey (better known as a 3-ounce bag of trail mix) on a flight from Chicago to Vermont, when a scorpion decided to do laps up his pant leg. The man got stung in the leg and later a second time while waiting for baggage claim.

It's not just poisonous arachnids that bug travelers.

Early this summer, on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago, Elin Kuffner got a bee in her bonnet. Literally.

Apparently, the bee boarded with the passengers and decided to bug Elin and stung her on the neck. Because Elin is allergic to bees, it could have been a honey of a problem. Luckily, she was carrying an epinephrine kit and survived the flight, which wasn't true for the bee.

Several years ago, on a flight from Japan to Australia, a honey bee caused a buzz when he landed in a seat just before the passenger did. It was a painful landing for both of them, although again the bee paid the ultimate price.

Australia was more concerned about the bee than the passenger, because infiltration of that particular species could cause a hornet's nest with the continent's own bee population.

And it's not just the stinging bugs that cause a problem.

Some insects, such as fruit flies, can destroy an entire agricultural crop when they're introduced to a new area. Other insects might arrive with pests of their own stowing away, such as mites, which can also cause catastrophic agricultural damage.

Countries trying to control diseases such as malaria or West Nile virus, or save their crops, may require airlines to spray pesticides in the aircraft.

Some spraying might be done before the aircraft lands at its destination. Other sprays, which have a residual effect on bugs, may be done on the ground before passengers board. These sprays are toxic to bugs, but they can also be toxic to passengers.

Flight attendants who fly these routes regularly often complain of respiratory problems, which they believe are caused by inhaling the fumes.

Scientists have developed an environmentally sound system that might spell "curtains" for flying insects. The new program uses an air curtain to keep insects from boarding an aircraft. The curtain propels air away from the passenger doors and the bugs are literally blown away.

Most crew members would agree that keeping pesticides off airplanes would be a big step to improving air quality. It might only take a puff of air to take the sting out of air travel.