Can malaria-carrying mosquitoes really hitch a ride on planes?
The deaths of two airport workers in Frankfurt have highlighted a rare phenomenon that appears to be on the rise in Europe.
- 28 August 2026
- 5 min read
- by Linda Geddes
At a glance
- Though rare, mosquitoes infected with malaria parasites are occasionally carried to non-endemic areas by air, sea or road, resulting in cases of airport or luggage malaria, also known as “Odyssean malaria”.
- A recent systematic review identified 145 cases of Odyssean malaria in European countries between 1969 and January 2024. France, Belgium and Germany experienced the greatest number of airport malaria cases during this period, and around half of those affected either worked at or lived near an international airport.
- Because diagnosis and treatment are often delayed, such cases are disproportionately likely to become severe or fatal.
Six airport workers in Frankfurt have contracted malaria and two have died after an infected mosquito is believed to have hitched a ride to Germany on an aircraft.
Though such cases are unusual, recent research suggests they are being reported increasingly often in Europe. So, what is airport malaria, how does it happen and why might cases be increasing?
How can people catch malaria without travelling to an endemic country?
Most cases of malaria in Europe and other regions where the disease doesn’t normally circulate occur in travellers who were bitten by an infected mosquito abroad and develop symptoms after returning home.
More rarely, malaria can be acquired locally. This can happen when a local mosquito bites an infected traveller and subsequently passes the parasite to someone else, or when an infected mosquito itself is transported from a malaria-endemic country by plane or boat, and bites somebody at its destination, as is believed to have happened in Frankfurt.
The latter scenario is known as airport, or more broadly Odyssean malaria, a reference to the Greek hero Odysseus and his long, eventful voyage home from the Trojan war.
Describing the phenomena in a 2014 paper, researchers at South Africa’s Wits Research Institute for Malaria wrote: “Similarly, a lost mosquito might have many dangerous encounters as she navigates a suitcase, aircraft cabin, cargo hold or taxi, escaping being deliberately swatted, accidentally squashed, eaten by a predator, or succumbing to heat or cold on her way to her next blood meal, far from her natural home.”
Yet, if the mosquito survives its journey, the consequences for people at its destination can be deadly.
Of 14 laboratory-confirmed and seven probable cases of Odyssean malaria investigated by the Wits researchers in South Africa’s Gauteng province between 2007 and 2013, two people died – a case fatality rate of 9.5%, which the researchers said was “approximately 10 times higher than the national fatality rate for malaria” at the time.
A key problem is that doctors may not initially suspect malaria in someone who hasn’t travelled to a malaria-endemic region, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment.
Cases of Odyssean malaria are inevitable in South Africa, “given the volume of road, rail and air traffic from malaria risk areas into Gauteng and other non-endemic provinces,” the researchers said.
Because of this, “malaria should always be kept in mind as a cause of unexplained fever and [low blood platelet count], even in the absence of a travel history”.
Yet, the west German city of Frankfurt is located much further away from the world’s malaria-endemic regions than Gauteng, raising the question of just how often infected mosquitoes make such journeys to Europe.
How common is airport malaria in Europe?
Although Odyssean malaria is less common in Europe, cases do occur.
A recent systematic review identified 145 cases across nine European countries between 1969 and January 2024. Of these, 105 were classified as airport malaria, in which an infected mosquito was thought to have escaped from an aircraft and bitten someone at or near an airport, while 32 attributed to “luggage malaria”, in which the mosquito was transported in baggage before emerging elsewhere. In eight cases, investigators didn’t distinguish between the two scenarios.
France experienced the greatest number of airport malaria cases during this period (52), with Paris Charles de Gaulle airport linked to more cases than any other airport. Belgium had the next highest number (19), followed by Germany (nine). Around half of those affected either worked at or lived near an international airport.
Malaria should always be kept in mind as a cause of unexplained fever and [low blood platelet count], even in the absence of a travel history.
When the researchers analysed flight patterns, they found that Paris Charles de Gaulle and Brussels airports received the greatest number of flights from malaria-endemic countries and had direct flight connections to more such countries than any other airport in the European Union or European Economic Area.
These were also signs that such cases may be becoming more common. More than a third of those reported since 2000 occurred during the five years between 2018 and 2022. This was despite disruptions in air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that passenger numbers alone were unlikely to account for the trend.
The researchers suggested several other possible factors, including changes in aircraft insect-control practices, warmer conditions around European airports that could help imported mosquitoes survive long enough to bite someone, and changes in direct flights from malaria-endemic countries.
However, greater awareness may also be playing a role, as recent cases were mainly uncovered through a request for data to European public-health agencies. The high number of travel-associated malaria cases reported in France may also be related to a high level of professional awareness, and routine malaria diagnostics and reporting, the researchers said.
Can anything be done to reduce the risk of airport malaria?
Reducing the risk largely comes down to preventing infected mosquitoes from hitching a ride or surviving the journey to Europe or other malaria non-endemic areas.
Aircraft arriving from some destinations are already treated with insecticide to kill mosquitoes, although the researchers said more work was needed to establish how consistently these measures are followed and how effective they are.
They also called for more structured surveillance of cases in Europe and improved awareness of airport malaria, to reduce the time taken to diagnose possible cases.
As for Frankfurt airport, where six males working in different jobs and areas of the airport have been infected, officials are currently analysing blood samples to determine whether they were infected by one mosquito or six different ones.
Mosquito traps have also been laid around the airport, and captured insects will be analysed to determine their species and origin.
