Carnival Corporation-owned Princess Cruises has transferred hundreds of passengers off the ship on charter flights to comply with a recent federal requirement that cruisers do not fly private. Passengers left for Bermuda on Wednesday in two private jet charters, Miami-Dade spokesperson Greg Chin said.

Five charter flights are scheduled via Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Mexico, Alaska and many stops in South America.

The company said in a statement Wednesday that it was trying to get all passengers off the ship and on flights home by Thursday night, a reversal from the strategy in effect when the ship docked Saturday morning that called for 27 sick passengers to stay on board until they recovered.

The process of getting people off quickly has been complicated as passengers waiting for transfers are not permitted to go to local hotels, the company said, which could temporarily help as Princess Cruises is negotiating customs and travel restrictions from different countries.

Maritime Business World