July 23rd 2023.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes due to wildfires that have been raging for six days. British tourists were among the thousands of people who were forced to flee yesterday as the fire turned towards the coast.
Consequently, flights to Rhodes have been cancelled. Jet2 has cancelled five flights which were due to depart for Rhodes today and TUI has axed all flights until Tuesday. Jet2 said that affected customers will be provided with a full refund and the opportunity to rebook their flights. Meanwhile, TUI said they are taking care of their guests and employees as best as possible and providing water and supplies where needed. Northern touristic areas of Rhodes remain unaffected.
EasyJet and Ryanair are still operating direct flights to Rhodes. EasyJet is allowing passengers to transfer their trips to another date for free or request a flight voucher and have cancelled package holidays departing up to and including Tuesday. Ryanair has said they will accept temporary travel documentation issued by the Greek Police and has set up an helpdesk to assist visitors who have lost their travel documents.
The current wildfires in the Southern part of the island are having an impact on the tourism industry. Footage from Kiotari and Lardo resorts shows sightseers against a murky orange sky dragging suitcases and fleeing hotels without their luggage. Preliminary police data suggests 16,000 people have been evacuated over land and 3,000 by sea.
British mum Debbie Antoine said her daughter and her family are stranded in Rhodes. They had to run for their lives from the Princess Andriana Resort & Spa and have been sleeping on sun beds. They have lost everything as they ran in their swimwear and the hotel gave them towels and nothing else, no food or drink.
The British Embassy in Athens is closely monitoring the wildfire in Rhodes and the Foreign Office’s travel advice is to check with your travel operator or hotel prior to travelling that the area you plan to visit is not impacted by the current wildfires.
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