European nations dispatch planes to evacuate citizens from hantavirus-hit cruise ship
Key takeaways
- By: FRANCE 24 Medical personnel in hazmat suits wait for patients, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 6, 2026.
- The European Union is sending two further planes for remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added.
- It is expected to anchor near the island between 0300 GMT and 0500 GMT.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, Spain's interior minister said on Saturday, adding that transport will also be arranged by the European Union, the US and the UK for the remaining passengers.
By: FRANCE 24 Medical personnel in hazmat suits wait for patients, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 6, 2026. © Peter Dejong, AP Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens aboard the Tenerife-bound cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, Spain's interior minister said in Madrid on Saturday.
The European Union is sending two further planes for remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added. The US and UK have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens whose countries were unable to send air transport, he said.