Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport removes 3 padded benches due to bedbugs

PHOENIX — Several padded benches near a security checkpoint in the largest terminal of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have been removed due to bedbugs.

According to airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez, three benches in Terminal 4 were removed from a pre-security area overnight after bedbugs were reported on Tuesday.

Rodriguez said the issue was isolated to that area and a professional pest control company will follow up to “confirm that the areas are clear of these pests.”

Rodriguez downplayed the issue in a statement to KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday, saying “as we have 200,000 people a day coming through Sky Harbor, sometimes that can happen.”

“This is something any large public venue is adept at handling: airports, stadiums, shopping malls, movie theatres, etc.,” she added.

In an unrelated incident, a Valley woman claimed she encountered bedbugs in her seat at an AMC Theatres in a Phoenix suburb several weeks ago.

Crystal Roze Mitchell said in a Facebook post on that the AMC Theatres location at Westgate in Glendale is “infested with bedbugs.”

“They know about it and have an exterminator there every [Tuesday]. Clearly it’s not working, yet they are still open and allowing families to go in and take these bugs back to their homes,” she said.

In response, the company said it treated the area and reopened the auditorium where Mitchell claimed she saw bedbugs one day later.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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