Government jet lands after hantavirus evacuation flight from Tenerife
By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association
The Government jet has landed in Ireland after being sent to Tenerife to evacuate two passengers who were on a virus-hit cruise ship.
The MV Hondius, which is at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, docked in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning.
Spanish authorities have been conducting health checks and disembarking passengers.
The aircraft flew to and from the island from Baldonnel Aerodrome on Sunday.
Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today. I’m grateful to Ministers @Monica_Garcia_G, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and @avtorresp, their @sanidadgob, @interiorgob and @territorialgob teams, and the whole government of #Spain for their… pic.twitter.com/6Fiz1ODVVH
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 10, 2026
Flight-tracking websites showed the plane left Tenerife for Ireland at around 5.40pm and landed back at the military air base in west Co Dublin shortly after 9pm.
Two ambulences were seen leaving the airport just before 9.30pm.
The Department of Health said two passengers would be accompanied by Health Service Executive (HSE) medics during the “aeromedical evacuation”.
They were said to have followed isolation protocols on the ship and were in “good health”.
They were due to be taken to an HSE facility where they would be monitored while quarantining, a process which follows international guidance.
On Saturday, a Department of Health spokesperson said: “If they become symptomatic, they will be assessed and treated as appropriate.”
In a statement, the department said: “The return of passengers and crew from MV Hondius has been carefully planned and guided by public health authorities to ensure safety for everyone – these measures protect communities while respecting the dignity and well-being of those returning home.”
Spanish authorities said on Sunday that no passengers on the ship were showing symptoms of the virus and the disembarkation process was “proceeding well”.
They began the evacuation of the ship by nationality and ferried passengers to port by small boat.
Passengers were told to leave their luggage on the ship and were only allowed to take a small bag with essential items.
The first group to be evacuated was made up of 14 Spanish nationals who were flown to a hospital in Madrid.
While they were being bussed from the port at Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport, some passengers, wearing blue PPE, waved and gave thumbs up gestures as they passed watching media.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said its goal was to finish the ship’s evacuation, with the exception of 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday.
Those crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, the WHO said.
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Tenerife that the outbreak was “not another Covid and the risk to the public is low”.
The organisation has said that as this is the first documented outbreak of hantavirus on board a ship, a highly precautionary approach was being taken out of “an abundance of caution”.
They said on Saturday there had been six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius and four patients were in hospital.
It said that eight cases, including three deaths, had been reported – with one previous suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.
