Ireland has also reportedly committed to these plans.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is providing consular assistance to the Irish citizens aboard the MV Hondius.

“We are coordinating with our Embassy in Madrid, responsible for the Canary Islands, as well as with colleagues in the Department of Health on support to the citizens,” a spokesperson said.

The European Union is sending two further planes for remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added. The U.S. and UK have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens whose countries were unable to send air transport, he said.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will meet Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid on Saturday afternoon and then travel to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, alongside Spain’s interior and health ministers to coordinate the arrival of the ship.

It is expected to anchor near the island between 3am GMT and 5am GMT.

Local authorities have warned the evacuation must take place between Sunday midday and Monday afternoon before conditions at sea are expected to take a turn for the worse until the end of May due to stormy weather.

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The luxury cruise ship MV Hondius left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers onboard after the hantavirus outbreak was detected.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, including three who died – a Dutch couple and a German national.

Six of these people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another two suspected cases, the WHO has said.

Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.

All passengers as well as 17 crew members will be evacuated but 30 crew will stay on board and travel on to the Netherlands, Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said. Luggage and the body of a deceased passenger on the ship will remain on board and the ship will be fully disinfected on arrival, she added.

Spanish citizens will disembark first, with the order of evacuation of the remaining groups of citizens to be determined by health authorities. Citizens will not be able to disembark until their evacuation plane is ready to depart, Grande-Marlaska said.

WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebrey said on X that he was in contact with the ship’s captain and a WHO colleague who is on board who said that, at this stage, there are no additional people on board showing symptoms of Hantavirus.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday that morale has improved on board since the ship started its journey to Tenerife.

It said two doctors are on board along with infectious disease experts from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), who are conducting a medical assessment of all passengers and crew.

While the risk to the public is low, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there could be more cases because of the incubation period of the Andes virus – the variant of hantavirus linked to the outbreak.

Experts believe the incubation period for the virus in the human body can extend to six weeks.

The outbreak has been connected to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina which two of the passengers went on before boarding the ship.

The HSE has been contacted for comment.