Repatriation Flights for Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Passengers Begin

Turkish citizens prepare to board a plane bound for Turkey carrying passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius, at the Tenerife Sur-Reina Sofia airport in Tenerife, Spain, on May 10.Photographer: Aontonio Sempere/AFP/Getty Images

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May 10, 2026 at 6:14 PM UTC

Repatriation flights of passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak began on Sunday.

“We currently have 23 countries that have nationalities on board, either through passengers or crew,” Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization, said on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing. “The operation started this morning at 7:30 local time, and we’ll continue to about 7:30, 8 o’clock tonight, and then continue tomorrow.”