The MV Hondius cruise ship, stranded off the coast of Cape Verde with 14 Spanish passengers on board, will be evacuated by a military aircraft bound for Madrid. This was confirmed by the Ministers of Health and Interior, Mónica García and Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Those affected will be transferred to the Gómez Ulla Hospital, a reference center for high-risk infectious diseases.
The logistics of a high-risk evacuation in the middle of the Atlantic 🚁
The operation involves coordinating a medicalized military flight with isolation capacity, as the exact nature of the outbreak on board is unknown. The aircraft, likely an Airbus A400M or a Dassault Falcon, will have to land in Cape Verde without contact with the terminal. Patients will be transported in negative pressure modules, similar to those used during the COVID-19 pandemic, to prevent any pathogen leakage.
A cruise that promised relaxation and ended up as a biology class 🦠
Passengers dreamed of dolphins and cocktails on deck, but instead received an intensive course on isolation protocols. Now, instead of a photo with the captain, they will pose for the infrared thermometers at Gómez Ulla. At least they can say they traveled on a military plane, which sounds cooler than a tourist bus, even if the final destination is a sealed room with small windows.