Cockroaches found on Air NZ plane in second incident within a month

Air New Zealand is in the spotlight for a second time in a week for reports of cockroaches on board Australia to New Zealand flights.

The Herald was contacted by an Air NZ passenger who travelled from Sydney to Auckland on May 15 and videoed the insects crawling around the cabin.

This was the second incident brought to media attention, following another video that emerged last Friday also showing cockroaches on a flight from Perth to Auckland.

The May 15 video, filmed onboard Flight NZ102 at 9.50am, shows the insects crawling above the window and over safety brochures in the seat pocket.

Cockroaches allegedly filmed crawling on Air New Zealand flight. Photo / Supplied

The passenger said he showed the video footage to a flight attendant, but they showed little interest in the issue.

An AIr New Zealand spokeswoman said they were not aware of a complaint from the customer in relation to the insect.

"Our international aircraft are regularly treated with an appropriate long-acting insecticide. We take all steps necessary to ensure the health and comfort of our customers, but we unfortunately can't rule out the possibility of an insect inadvertently being brought onboard by customers on or in their carry-on luggage or entering the aircraft during an airport layover.

"If a customer encounters an insect on a flight they should let the cabin crew on board know. The airline will then notify the Ministry of Primary Industries (or its overseas equivalent) which has a set process around insect control."

This comes after another passenger was left revolted after spotting cockroaches running around on his flight from Perth.

The man told Newshub he managed to kill a few of the cockroaches but the crew were not interested when he showed them a dead bug.

The man shot video of the insects crawling around on the back of a chair on a flight from Perth to Auckland and said the bugs also crawled over passengers.

"All I can say is when one crawled up the arm of the girl in front of me I am glad she was asleep, the screams would have hurt," he told Newshub.

The man said one crew member told him they had informed the pilot.

When he was leaving the plane, a biosecurity officer asked him where they were and how many he had seen because they were going to spray the plane, he said.

Air New Zealand has been contacted for comment.