Abta has insisted travel companies will not return holidaymakers to resorts in fire-ravaged parts of Rhodes until they are fully operational again.
It is understood that Greek authorities reinstated an evacuation notice for the resort of Kalathos to the north of Lindos on the east coast of the island and the situation regarding wildfires remains fluid.
Operators will be liaising with hotels and other accommodation providers to ensure that they are fully operational before permitting people to return after almost 20,000 people were evacuated from homes and hotels.
More: Tour operators continue Rhodes repatriation efforts
Jet2 confirms four Rhodes rescue flights on Monday
Most operators have cancelled departures to Rhodes for a week as they continue repatriation efforts but a questionmark remains over thousands of tourists with future bookings to the island and whether damaged hotels and other accommodation will be able to reopen this summer.
Transport secretary Mark Harper spoke to airlines yesterday to discuss their response to the Rhodes fires.
Referring to British Airways, Tui, Jet2, Ryanair and easyJet, he said in a tweet: “I welcome the additional flights they’re putting on to help bring British travellers home safely.”
Greek tourism officials have insisted that the wildfires have affected less than 10% of the total tourist capacity on Rhodes, a figure confirmed by Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell.
He was quoted yesterday as saying that “it’s important to remember that only 10% of the island is affected by these fires, and therefore it is the tourist companies and the holiday experts who are best placed to give guidance on whether or not a family or individuals’ holidays are going to be ruined by these events”.
Which? response
However, consumer group Which? warned that “no holidaymaker should be forced to choose between losing their money and travelling into a natural disaster zone”.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “It would be indefensible for holiday companies to cash in on travellers who sensibly decide not to travel, and more airlines and holiday companies must show flexibility.
“Without a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office warning against travel to the affected regions, travellers who don’t want to go but are refused flexibility to rebook are likely to be left holding the bill for acting sensibly, and may be unable to claim on their travel insurance.”
Many of those with holidays booked to the islands will now understandably be reluctant to travel and more tourists arriving is only likely to be disruptive to local authorities who are managing dangerous and rapidly developing situations, he added.
Boland said: “While it is positive to see some airlines and tour operators making the sensible decision to offer customers refunds or the opportunity to rebook free of charge, no holidaymaker should be forced to choose between losing their money and travelling into a natural disaster zone.”
Abta ‘working with members’
Abta has said it is continuing to work with members to support customers affected by the wildfires in Rhodes.
“We understand that some of the resorts have had their evacuation order removed by the Greek authorities and people have been advised that they can return to the resorts of Lindos and Pefkos,” a spokesperson said.
“Travel companies will be liaising with their accommodation providers to ensure that they are ready to receive customers and customers will be notified accordingly.”
A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work tirelessly to look after our customers.
“Yesterday 10 flights departed from Rhodes back to the UK, including our four repatriation flights.
“Customers are seeing our significantly increased red team presence on the island and in the airport, and we are continuing to put every effort into contacting and supporting customers who have been impacted.”
Tui UK & Ireland said: “We’re continuing to closely monitor the wildfires in Rhodes which have led to the evacuation of a number of hotels in the south of the island and have made some changes to our holiday programme in the coming days.
“We have cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Friday 28th July, and have also cancelled holidays for customers travelling to impacted hotels up to and including Sunday 30th July. We’ll be in touch with customers directly if their hotels in the South of he island have been impacted.
“All flight-only customers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds. Package holiday customers will have the option to amend their booking or cancel with a full refund.
“Passengers due to travel up to and including 30th July for all areas of Rhodes will be offered a fee free amend to another holiday or the option to cancel for a full refund. We are still operating flights from Rhodes back to UK and Ireland as scheduled.”
OTA Thomas Cook said: “We recognise that the current situation in Rhodes will be concerning for all of our customers both in Rhodes and due to depart.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Rhodes regarding wildfires and are in touch with our partners on the ground and local authorities as well as UK and Greek national authorities.
“We are contacting customers who have upcoming holidays to Rhodes, in departure date order.
“All departures from 1st August remain as planned and customers should wait to hear from our team who will be in touch closer to the date of departure.”
Loveholidays said holidays to unaffected areas of Rhodes between July 26-31 will go ahead as planned if flights have not been cancelled.
Corfu ‘different’
Meanwhile, Abta insisted that the situation in Corfu was “quite different” to Rhodes as the wildfire was much smaller and affecting significantly fewer holidaymakers.
The spokesperson said: “Some of the resorts were evacuated as a precautionary measure and we understand that those who were initially evacuated have mostly been able to return to their resorts and their accommodation.
“Corfu is a very large island. Hotels and resorts are open and providing holiday services. The majority of people travelling to or currently on holiday in Corfu should be able to continue their holidays as planned.
“The health and safety of customers on holiday in the region is the number one priority and Abta members remain in close contact with the Greek authorities regarding the situation in Corfu.
“Customers in Corfu and those due to travel there imminently are advised to continue to monitor the situation and follow any advice issued by the local authorities or their travel company.”
Tui added: “We’d like to reassure customers due to travel to Corfu that our hotels and resorts are currently operating normally following the containment of a wildfire in a small area in the northeast.”
A Marella cruise will operate as planned from Corfu on Friday (July 28).