It put into action on Sunday morning (10/5) the complex plan to evacuate the cruise ship MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife, following the deadly outbreak of the virus.
Madrid, responding to the request of the WHO and the EU, took over the central coordination of the international operation, turning the local port into a strictly controlled sanitary zone.
The Greek passenger returns
For today, Sunday, May 10, 2026, the repatriation of the Greek on the cruise ship is planned. The man will be transported by Dutch aircraft to the Eindhoven airport in the Netherlands and then by a special Air Force flight to the Elefsina military airport.
From there, he will be picked up by an EKAV ambulance and transferred to a specially designed negative pressure chamber at the “Attikon” University General Hospital, where he will be placed in a mandatory 45-day quarantine.
The Greek is out of danger and asymptomatic. In accordance with the indicated security measures, for preventive reasons, he will be accompanied on the special repatriation flight by an EMS doctor, an EMS rescuer-nurse and the president of the EODY scientific board, Mr. Theodoros Vassilakopoulos.
Draconian measures at the port of Granadilla
The disembarkation process is reminiscent of surgery. Passengers are taken ashore in small boats in groups of five to avoid overcrowding. From there, they board direct buses bound for the airport.
The authorities assure that the passengers who are being removed do not show symptoms, however their transport is being carried out by military and specially chartered aircraft, as they are all considered “high-risk contacts”. Upon arrival in the destination countries, they will be taken to hospitals for the prescribed 42-day quarantine.
The origin of the virus is a mystery
Despite the tragic end of three passengers (a Dutch couple and a German), the health report of the Spanish experts who boarded the MV Hondius is reassuring about the conditions on board.
No traces of mice, which are the main carrier of the virus, were found, which reinforces the scenario of human-to-human transmission or pre-boarding infection. The ship was also deemed clean and the sanitary conditions adequate.
Once the evacuation of the 150 passengers is complete, 30 crew members will remain on board. The MV Hondius will sail immediately afterwards for the Netherlands, where it will undergo universal and specialized decontamination before being put back into service.
