One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from a cruise ship in the Canary Islands has tested positive for the hantavirus but is not displaying any symptoms, US health officials confirmed late on Sunday.

The charter flight was carrying 17 Americans who had been evacuated from the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago situated off the West African coast. The aircraft was expected to touch down in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early hours of Monday.

The Americans were to be initially flown to the University of Nebraska, which operates a federally funded quarantine facility, in order to determine whether they had been in close contact with any symptomatic individuals and to evaluate their risk of transmitting the virus.

"One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms," said Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for The Nebraska Medical Center.

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities beginning the evacuation of the cruise liner by nationality, ferrying passengers to port aboard smaller vessels.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated its goal was to complete the full evacuation of the ship, with the exception of 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday.

Travellers were told to leave their belongings on board and were only allowed to carry a small bag containing essential items such as their phone and passport.

Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed late last night on X: "Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today."

British nationals returning to the UK face a 45-day self-isolation period and will be barred from using public transport to travel home.

Once the isolation period has concluded, public health officials will assess whether passengers are able to self-isolate at home or at a suitable alternative location, depending on their individual living arrangements.

In a post on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place.

"The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns."