Plane en route to lift Aussies from virus-stricken cruise ship

Australians on board a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will have to wait on the vessel, despite other passengers departing, as they await a flight home.

The four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and a New Zealand national are expected to leave the Canary Islands, where passengers have finally begun to disembark, later today and touch down in Perth on Tuesday.

A federal government spokesperson said Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consular officers in Tenerife and Canberra had been closely coordinating the response while the Commonwealth and states are working through health and transport arrangements.

Passengers watch as others are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP)
A passenger waves to the Guardia Civil officers as they are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP)

The Aussies will travel to Australia aboard a government-funded charter flight. Medical personnel will be on board the flight to monitor the passengers, but none are displaying symptoms of hantavirus.

The travellers who are being repatriated live in NSW and Queensland, where state bodies will be responsible for managing the quarantine and testing arrangements.

The state governments have given no indication of how long the quarantine period will be once they arrive home.

A range of measures are being put in place to ensure the passengers on board the ship do not come into contact with the general population in Australia, and specialist transport will be arranged to transfer them from their charter flight to their quarantine locations.

“The Australian government’s number one priority is the safety of passengers and the Australian community,” they said.

“In order to protect Australians and support the safe return of those onboard MV Hondius, the Australian Government is repatriating four Australian citizens and one permanent resident from Tenerife.

“One New Zealand citizen will also travel on the Australian Government-supported flight.”

Spanish passengers were the first to leave the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the West African coast. They were then flown to Madrid and taken to a military hospital. Hours later, a plane that evacuated French passengers landed in Paris, where it was met by emergency vehicles.

One of the five French passengers developed symptoms on the flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a statement, and all were put into strict isolation with plans to be tested.

Earlier, officials from the Spanish Health Ministry, the World Health Organisation and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions had said none of the more than 140 people who were then on the Hondius had shown symptoms of the virus.

The planes arriving in Tenerife were to fly out passengers from more than 20 countries.

Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Passengers stand next to a Spanish government plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Arturo Rodriguez)
Passengers are being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)

Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms, and are being taken off the ship only once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to their destinations.

“The entire operation is proceeding normally,” Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said on Monday.

Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights for people of more than 20 different nationalities on Sunday and Monday.

The first plane left on Sunday for Madrid, where the passengers would be taken to a military hospital.

But It’s understood the Australian flight – the last to fly out – won’t leave until 5pm on Monday (2am Tuesday AEST) bound for Perth, carrying medical personnel who’ll monitor the passengers.

Passengers sit inside a bus after being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

While quarantine arrangements are still being worked out, it’s believed the returning passengers live in NSW and Queensland.

“Quarantine and health arrangements are managed by states in accordance with their public health requirements,” the federal government spokesperson said.

Passengers and crew members disembarking are leaving behind their luggage, and are allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cell phone, charger and documentation.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sought to reassure the public, repeating on Sunday that the risk for the general public from the outbreak remained low.

“We have been repeating the same answer many times,” he said.

“This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic.”

Workers prepare the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP)

Even so, those disembarking and personnel working at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife wore protective gear during the evacuation process, including face masks, hazmat suits and respirators.

Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms and won’t be taken off the ship until a flight is already in Tenerife waiting for them.

After setting foot on the ground, the passengers would be taken in sealed-off buses to the Spanish island’s ​main airport about 10 minutes away, to board planes ⁠heading to their respective countries.

Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Europe’s public health agency said late on ​Saturday all passengers were considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure.

Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.

The Spanish nationals on board will be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined, authorities said. Oceanwide said 13 Spanish passengers and one crew would be the only ones allowed to quarantine in Spain.

The Australian government didn’t say how long the passengers would be quarantined for.

France’s Foreign Ministry said five French passengers would be in hospital for 72 hours for monitoring before quarantining at home for 45 days.

After the passenger came down with symptoms, the prime minister said the five would be kept in the hospital “until further orders.”

Passengers stand on the deck of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

WHO reassures Canary Islands locals

Earlier, Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia and Ghebreyesus looked to reassure the community on the Canary Islands that there would be no outbreak on land.

“I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment,” Ghebreyesus said during a news conference in Madrid.

“But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now.”

Garcia said passengers and some crew would disembark in Tenerife “under maximum safety conditions”.

A member of the Guardia Civil finishes erecting a tent at an expected reception point for passengers from the MV Hondius at the Granadilla Port. (Getty)

Operation could be delayed as residents express concern

There were earlier concerns the operation to let passengers leave the stricken ship could be delayed, with Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo claiming some of the repatriation flights that were to take passengers back to their home countries had not arrived on time.

In an impromptu press conference, he claimed he was looking to cancel the operation due to the health risks it would pose to his community.

He is not the only one who is concerned.

Some on Tenerife say they are worried. On board the cruise ship, some Spanish passengers have voiced concern about being stigmatised.

Civil Guard border police officers following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP)

“I tell you, I don’t like this very much,” 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal said.

“Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?”

Others said they empathised with the boat’s passengers, but were still concerned.

“The truth is that it is very worrying,” 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Samantha Aguero said.

The MV Hondius cruise ship is set to dock in the Canary Islands, but some residents expressed concern. (AP)

“We feel a bit unsafe, we don’t feel as there are 100 per cent security measures in place to welcome it.

“This is a virus after all and we have lived this during the pandemic. But we also need to have empathy.”

Reported with Associated Press.