A medical aircraft transporting two individuals rescued from the virus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius had to divert its route today due to denial of landing clearance in Morocco. The Learjet 45, initially set to refuel in Marrakech after health professionals transferred the pair in protective gear from the vessel off the Cape Verde coast, rerouted to Gando Air Base in Gran Canaria, a Spanish Air Force facility.
Following the unscheduled stop, the flight was rescheduled to depart for Holland at approximately 5:40 pm local time. The identity of the patient onboard, potentially the critically ill British doctor evacuated earlier, remained unconfirmed. Alongside the British doctor, a 41-year-old Dutchman and a 65-year-old German were also evacuated to Amsterdam from the Dutch-owned cruise ship.
Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia reported an improvement in the unnamed doctor’s condition before the emergency airlift. She mentioned the doctor’s stabilization and redirection to Holland instead of Spain as per the Dutch government’s request. The reason for Morocco’s refusal of landing permission for the Learjet 45 remained unclear, despite footage showing its touchdown at Gando Air Base.
Meanwhile, Argentine government officials investigating the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship suggested a possible connection to a couple’s birdwatching excursion at a landfill. The officials, speaking anonymously, indicated that the virus might have entered the ship after a Dutch couple visited a landfill site in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, before embarking on the vessel. Authorities noted no previous hantavirus cases in Ushuaia or the surrounding Tierra del Fuego province.
