Hondius passengers flown out after hantavirus cruise ship evacuated

MADRID - The long ordeal for passengers and crew on the Hondius cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is ending with their evacuation from the boat on Sunday in Tenerife under strict safety precautions.

The first passengers and crew members were brought ashore in small groups by boat just a few hours after the Hondius entered the port of Granadilla in the south of the holiday island. They were then taken by bus to the nearby Tenerife Sur airport and flown out.

Their evacuation comes a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) first reported that three passengers had died in a suspected outbreak of the hantavirus, which can cause fever and severe respiratory illness in humans and is typically spread by the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents.

First to disembark the ship were the 14 Spanish nationals on board, including 13 passengers and one crew member.

They were wearing protective clothing and masks and were taken to the airport in two buses provided by the Military Emergency Unit (UME). From there, their flight departed for Madrid. In the Spanish capital, they are to be placed in quarantine at a military hospital and monitored by an expert from the WHO.

A Dutch aircraft later took off carrying a total of 26 passengers and crew members, including Dutch, German, Belgian and Greek nationals.

Before disembarkation began, doctors had boarded the ship to carry out an epidemiological investigation. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told journalists at the port that all passengers and crew members are symptom-free.

Firefighters from Essen and Frankfurt were due to collect four German passengers from the military airport in Eindhoven on Sunday. They will then be taken to Frankfurt in a "special isolation transport."

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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 10:57 AM.