Foltan

Exactly - QF aircraft fly in and out of Australia almost every day so a long-term solution is most logical even if it's a bit slower and more expensive for the initial treatment.
The BA aircraft would probably end up in an entirely different continent for the next month and so a short-term option is most cost/time effective you'd assume.

Often1

Unless I am missing something, pretty much all QF aircraft return to Australia on a regular basis. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that another carrier's aircraft might rarely or only occasionally find itself in Australia. The former process makes sense for QF because the treatment can simply be calendared and presumably QF has supplied ready. Having a supply at every BA outstation because the aircraft might at some point fly to Australia is likely not feasible and certainly not worth it.

Lots of people complain about the spraying and one can argue until one is blue in the face about its value. But, Australia believes that it is effective and necessary and a minor inconvenience, so it requires the process. It is an easy choice as there are any number of other countries in the world and one could simply move or travel to one of those countries is the bug spray is that much of a negative.

Globaliser

In addition, those who complain about the airline which sprays may be comparing that airline with an airline which doesn't spray - in ignorance of the fact that the airline which doesn't spray does something that may arguably be even worse.

kyanar

NZ also does the same as NZ's Ministry for Primary Industries also requires all aircraft arriving into the country being "disinsected" (not even a word, but that's what they use).

Nomorepretzels

On a recent HNL - SYD trip on Hawaiian, while taxing in the FA's thru open all the overheads then sprayed at which time we were told we had to wait 10 minutes before the doors would be opened
I felt like I should've packed a gas mask.

WillTravel

Presumably these treatments are considered safe for pregnant women and infants?

Can I help you

I should hope so with the number of babies and pregnant women that are sprayed daily.

Knodde

Not sure why there would be spraying going to Australia, thought thats where all the poisonus creepy crawlers came from... :P

leaveamessage

To be fair, you could detonate a small nuclear device and those things would still be alive...

MarkFlies

I knew about cabin spraying but had never experienced it for a long time. In my head, it was an Outbreak-type scenario, with everyone doused in insecticides probably from nozzles overhead. Our clothes would need to be destroyed afterwards.

When i had it from Madeira, what an anti-climax!!

One of the cabin crew walked down the aisle periodically spraying from a plastic bottle - not even an aerosol! The bottle was so small it was like it needed to comply with the 100ml rule.

I was very disappointed.

tanglin

Several places I visit it's the outside of the aircraft that needs spraying, not the inside!

JamesBigglesworth

They use synthetic pyrethroids. These are ~1/100,000 the lethality/toxicity of natural pyrethrins. You'd have to drink upwards of ~3 liters of the stuff at the usual concentrations for it to be toxic to adult human. Even if you do manage to get some onto your blood stream while pregnant, it still can't cross the placenta barrier.

It's about as safe a compound as it is possible to get. Tap water in many US cities is more dangerous.