Transport secretary meets with airlines to discuss Rhodes repatriation
Ilaria Grasso MacolaTransport secretary Mark Harper has met with UK tour operators and airlines to discuss the repatriation of thousands of tourists stranded in Rhodes as wildfires continue to blaze through the central and south-eastern parts of the island.
“This evening I spoke to British Airways, Tui, Jet2, Ryanair and easyJet to discuss their response to the Rhodes fires,” he tweeted on Monday (24 July). “I welcome the additional flights they’re putting on to help bring British travellers home safely.”
The comments come as the operators and airlines have added more repatriation flights to help bring holidaymakers back to safety.
Tui operated six repatriation flights on Monday, three of which were for UK tourists, while easyJet brought back 421 people from Rhodes to Gatwick onboard two flights. This is in addition to the nine services the low-cost carrier had already under way and an additional one planned for Tuesday (25 July).
Elsewhere, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays operated four additional flights on Monday night, two to Leeds Bradford and one each to Manchester and Birmingham, with capacity for just short of 800 people.
Tui has also cancelled all flights to Rhodes up to 30 July, calling on customers to switch to other destinations or cancel their trip free of charge, while easyJet halted all operations in Rhodes up to 29 July.
“Guests with bookings whose holidays start in the coming days up to and including Sunday 30 July can rebook for other destinations or cancel their trip free of charge,” Tui said.
“We therefore encourage customers with a planned holiday to Rhodes within this period to switch to other destinations.”
The group – which as of Monday had 39,000 guests on the island – said resorts in the southern parts of the island – including Kiotari, Gennadin and Lindos – were the most affected.
Commenting on the situation, an Abta spokesperson said the trade body was working alongside members to “support customers affected by the wildfires in Rhodes.”
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