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By Cason Ho
By Andrea Mayes
Topic:Public Health
Fri 15 May 2026 at 1:03pm
The repatriation flight carrying the six passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )
A plane carrying six passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was stricken by hantavirus, has touched down near Perth.
They were monitored throughout the flight and remain symptom free and "in good health", Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says.
The passengers, along with a doctor and two flight crew, will remain at a nearby quarantine centre for at least three weeks.
Six people who were on board a cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have landed in Australia.
The four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and one New Zealander arrived on a repatriation flight that left the Netherlands late Thursday, where the passengers had been waiting after disembarking the MV Hondius.
The plane touched down around 11am WST. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )
The plane landed at RAAF Base Pearce, about 40 kilometres north-east of Perth, where the six boarded a minibus that took them to the nearby Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience under police escort.
The passengers were taken to the quaratine facility under police escort. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)
The passengers, wearing full-body protective gear, waved at reporters from the minibus.
The passengers, and the minibus driver, were wearing full-body protective gear. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )
The six had tested negative for hantavirus before the flight and were asymptomatic, and Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said they "remain in good health".
He said they would undergo a detailed health assessment including more PCR tests.
The passengers arrive at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience. (ABC News: Samantha Goerling)
The ABC understands the passengers were tested and processed by the Australian Border Force before their transfer to the quarantine centre.
They will quarantine there for three weeks.
The flight crew and a doctor on board are expected to also quarantine at the facility voluntarily for two weeks.
The minivan carrying the six passengers arrives at the Bullsbrook quarantine centre amid tight security (ABC News: Jo Milios)
Mr Butler said everyone on board had remained in full PPE throughout the flight.
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries staff will decontaminate the plane used for the repatriation flight.
Nestled away in Perth's outer fringes this 500-bed facility was built during the COVID-19 pandemic as a quarantine centre, but sat idle for years. Now, a different deadly virus will see it used for its intended purpose.
Mr Butler said the passengers would be looked after at the quarantine centre by staff flown in from Darwin's national critical care and trauma response centre.
He said the rooms housing the passengers had balconies, TVs and wi-fi.
"I'm sure these passengers would prefer ot be home. I thank them for their cooperation throughout this very difficult ordeal," the minister said.
The Bullsbrook facility where the passengers will quarantine. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)
"Our principal responsibility is to keep them safe and we have taken a precautionary approach to that."
He said yesterday further arrangements were being organised beyond the three weeks, as the incubation period for hantavirus was about 42 days.
The Bullsbrook facility where the six passengers will quarantine. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)
"We're not going to let anything happen that doesn't align with World Health Organization (WHO) advice about the incubation period for this virus," Mr Butler said.
The five Australians are from New South Wales and Queensland. Mr Butler said both state governments would be engaged to manage the latter half of the incubation period.
The WHO's latest update on the hantavirus outbreak, linked to the cruise ship, said 11 cases and three deaths had been reported.
Eight of the cases had been laboratory-confirmed, while two were deemed "probable", and one was inconclusive.
The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)
The two latest confirmed cases were reported from France and Spain. Both people were passengers of the MV Hondius.
Fri 15 May 2026 at 1:03pm
Fri 15 May 2026 at 3:36pm
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