Hungarians Brought Home from Cruise Ship

The Mexican Embassy in Budapest has announced that the Mexican government and the shipping company Carnival Corporation are working together to repatriate 799 crew members of ships docked in ports off the west coast of the United States, including Hungarian, Croatian and Bulgarian nationals.

Flights from the area of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco in Mexico, are launched to destinations such as San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Bridgetown, Barbados; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Belgrade, Serbia; and Lima, Peru. Similarly, the company will send three shuttle flights for European citizens from Mexico City International Airport to various European capitals, from where crew members are transported to their countries of origin. The first such flights departed for Amsterdam on May 21. For citizens of the countries of Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans – 300 people – the cruise company organizes flights between Puerto Vallarta and Belgrade.

The company’s crew members were quarantined aboard various ships. The authorities have taken joint and coordinated action to facilitate the safe repatriation of all crew members to their countries of origin. The situation is a good example of the challenges posed by the pandemic and makes clear the importance of strengthening cooperation strategies that unconditionally provide practical solutions where necessary, involving various actors in society – in this case private companies and public institutions such as the government of the Mexican state of Jalisco, the city of Puerto Vallarta as well as diplomatic representatives accredited to Mexico.