End of the journey: Cruises are now completely halted after the outbreak of Corona among the crew, and nearly 3,000 passengers were forced to return home | abroad

From Lisbon, the flight would normally go to the Canary Islands, but now nearly 3,000 travelers are waiting for their flight back home.

An outbreak of the disease was previously detected among cruise ship employees. According to the news agency DPA, this relates to 52 infections in 1,353 crew members. It is not known when they were infected. Before and during the sea voyage, all persons on board had to be screened and vaccinated. Sick crew members are being housed in hotels in Lisbon and are in isolation. According to German shipping company Aida Cruises, they have minor complaints. No injuries were detected among the passengers at the moment.

Aida Nova usually docks in Madeira on New Years Eve. Passengers will attend the spectacular fireworks display at Funchal Harbor. But because dozens of crew members were suddenly injured during a routine checkup, the cruise has remained in Lisbon for the time being, as the ship has also been stuck for the past few days. It is now clear that Lisbon will also be the unplanned final stop. The flight is completely cancelled.

“Due to the current situation, we cannot continue the journey with Ida Nova to the Canary Islands,” the shipping company said on Sunday, according to German media. Aida Cruises hopes passengers will understand the decision, which was “taken for the safety and health of both crew and tourists”. According to the company, a return flight has already been arranged for guests from Germany, Austria and Switzerland on Monday.

Last week, Aida Nova was still in Rotterdam. There the ship docked at Wihelminakade to store fuel and store fresh stock. According to Cruise Port Rotterdam, no one was disembarked at the time due to the lockdown in the Netherlands, not even the crew. “The protocols in the cruise world are very strict,” says Nick Hoogweg of Cruise Port Rotterdam. According to him, nothing was known about the injuries when the ship contacted the Dutch city.