The Netherlands German "Hondius" passengers on their way to Frankfurt
The four German passengers of the cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak who were flown out to the Netherlands are on their way to Frankfurt.
11.05.2026, 01:19
SDA
Several ambulances set off from the military section of Eindhoven Airport towards Germany late in the evening. Emergency services from the Essen and Frankfurt fire departments were requested for the transport, while another ambulance came from Dortmund.
The so-called special isolation transport takes the passengers to Frankfurt. From there, they will then be taken to the respective federal states for quarantine. The responsible health authorities will decide on the measures to be taken.
A total of 26 passengers and crew members of the "Hondius" had landed in Eindhoven an hour and a half earlier on a plane from the Canary Island of Tenerife. In addition to the four Germans and Dutch nationals, there were also Belgians and Greeks on board, all without symptoms, as the Spanish Ministry of Health announced before departure.
Health check for evacuees after landing
Specialists were waiting for the evacuees at Eindhoven airport to give them a medical check-up. The Dutch passengers were then taken home, where they had to go into home quarantine for six weeks.
One of the German passengers will later be taken to the Charité hospital in Berlin. According to the responsible Berlin Senate Department for Health, the person has not yet shown any symptoms and comes "from the Berlin-Brandenburg region". A symptom-free German contact person from the "Hondius" is to go into domestic quarantine in Baden-Württemberg. This was announced by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in Stuttgart in the evening.
Several evacuation flights
Even before the plane took off for Eindhoven, three planes had taken off with Spaniards, French and Canadians as part of the evacuation operation on the Spanish vacation island. Further planes from Great Britain, Ireland, Turkey and the USA followed. On Monday, a further aircraft from the Netherlands and an aircraft from Australia are to be deployed.
The "Hondius" arrived in the port of Granadilla on Tenerife early on Sunday morning. The cruise ship was carrying a total of 140 to 150 passengers, crew members and accompanying experts from 23 countries. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this included a mid-single-digit number of German nationals. According to the ship operator Oceanwide, a total of six Germans were on board.
According to the latest information from the WHO, there are six confirmed cases of hantavirus and two suspected cases. Three of these eight people have died. They are an elderly couple from the Netherlands and a woman from Germany. The WHO suspects that the chain of infection started with the Dutch couple, who may have been infected on land before embarking in Argentina.
"Hondius" continues on to Rotterdam
As soon as the people have disembarked, the "Hondius" is to continue its journey immediately with part of the crew and head for the Netherlands, under whose flag it is sailing. The bodies of the Germans who died on board will not be removed from the ship until it arrives in the port of Rotterdam. The ship is also disinfected in the Netherlands. The "Hondius" will take around five days to reach Rotterdam. It is not yet known when she will arrive there.
