Spanish authorities ponder over route of medical aircraft carrying hantavirus patients after cancelled Malaga stopover

The transfer of two hantavirus patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship from Cape Verde to Amsterdam continues amid confusion over the stopovers in Spain to complete the journey. Malaga, which authorities had initially scheduled as a technical refuelling stop for the first chartered medical aircraft, dropped out of the flight plan overnight after crews detected a fault in one patient's isolation chamber in Gran Canaria.

A series of setbacks forced authorities to revise the route several times. The original plan was for the medical aircraft, which left Praia on Wednesday, to refuel in Marrakech before continuing to Amsterdam. Morocco's refusal to allow the plane to land, however, forced officials to draw up a new route.

The government then organised a different series of stopovers because the aircraft lacked the range to fly directly to Amsterdam. It planned an initial stop in Gran Canaria followed by another in Malaga, from where the plane was due to continue to the Dutch capital on Wednesday afternoon.

The government had informed local authorities in Malaga, although officials never made the operation public. By the time news emerged of the planned stop at the Costa del Sol Airport, the plan had already been cancelled.

The cancellation followed the fault in the isolation chamber's electrical system. Just as the aircraft prepared to leave Gran Canaria for Malaga, the doctor on board detected a bubble inside the chamber and warned the crew that they needed to remain in the Canary Islands until they resolved the problem. Authorities then considered two options: repairing the chamber or transferring the patient to another aircraft.

They eventually chose the second option. A second medical aircraft flew from Oslo to Gran Canaria to carry out the transfer. Some sources said this replacement plane refuelled in Malaga on its inbound journey while still empty. After arriving in Gran Canaria, it took on more fuel before crews transferred the patient for the overnight flight to Amsterdam. Authorities have not confirmed whether that aircraft made any further stops in Spain.

The original aircraft (the one that initially carried the patient and later developed the fault in Gran Canaria) did stop on the Spanish mainland. Spain's central government confirmed that it made a technical stop in Valencia, although it no longer carried any patients and only the crew remained on board.