A person boards a plane flying to the Netherlands, which is transporting passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, at Tenerife Sur airport, Canary Islands, Spain, May 11, 2026. PEDRO NUNES / REUTERS
A cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak left Spain's Canary Islands bound for the Netherlands on Monday, May 11, after the last passengers on board disembarked and were flown home to quarantine.
Three people died after the rare virus that usually spreads among rodents was detected on board the MV Hondius, sparking a global health scare. No vaccines or specific treatments exist for the virus but health officials have insisted the risk to the public was low and dismissed comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ship set off from Tenerife on Monday evening after the last 28 people were taken off, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters at the scene. "It is expected to take MV Hondius six days to sail to Rotterdam," cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement. "A provisional arrival date is the evening of Sunday, 17 May 2026."
The ship has 25 crew and two medical staff on board, and is also carrying the body of a German passenger who died during the cruise, it added.
