A medical aircraft transporting two individuals rescued from the virus-affected cruise ship MV Hondius had to divert its route today due to a denied landing request in Morocco. The Learjet 45, initially planning to refuel in Marrakech after medical personnel in hazmat suits transferred the patients from the vessel near Cape Verde, had to reroute to Gando Air Base in Gran Canaria following the rejection from Moroccan air traffic control.
The flight, set to depart for Holland later in the day, raised uncertainty about whether the severely ill British doctor was among those onboard. Alongside the British national, a Dutchman aged 41 and a German aged 65 were also evacuated from the Dutch-owned cruise ship to Amsterdam.
Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia confirmed an improvement in the unnamed doctor’s condition before the emergency airlift, stating that the British patient, previously in critical condition, had stabilized and would now be transferred to Holland per the Dutch government’s request.
The reasons for Morocco’s refusal to allow the Learjet 45 to land remain unclear. Video footage showed the aircraft landing at Gando Air Base despite the denied permission.
Meanwhile, Argentine officials investigating the hantavirus outbreak aboard MV Hondius suggested a possible connection to a birdwatching tour taken by a couple at a landfill. The officials, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, proposed that the virus might have been introduced to the ship after the Dutch couple visited a landfill in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, before embarking on the cruise.
Authorities mentioned that Ushuaia and its surrounding province had no previous records of hantavirus cases, raising concerns about the potential source of the outbreak.
