Jet2 and TUI cancel flights and holidays to Rhodes amid wildfires

Following wildfires across Rhodes, holiday companies Jet2 and TUI have cancelled all flights and holidays to the Greek island.

Jet2

Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays to Rhodes up to and including Sunday 30 July ‘to give customers assurance and to avoid putting further pressure on the island’s infrastructure’. It has also offered affected customers refund and rebooking options.

However, aircraft will still be flown out by the airline but without any passengers so that it can bring its customers back to the UK. Over 50 flights are scheduled to operate between Rhodes and the UK over the course of this week (Sunday 23 July – Sunday 30 July).

In addition to these flights, Jet2 announced it would operate four repatriation flights from the island. They took place on the night of Monday 24 July, arriving at Manchester, Birmingham and two flights to Leeds Bradford.

A spokesperson for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “We understand how difficult this experience has been for many, and our entire focus is on looking after our customers. We have a significantly expanded presence in Rhodes, with a huge team of experienced colleagues providing all the support we can for our customers, whether that is in affected areas or at Rhodes Airport.

“We have also put on four repatriation flights to bring our customers home, which is on top of our scheduled programme of flights that will continue to operate from Rhodes to the UK this week. We are continuing to make decisions in the best interests of our customers, and we are keeping everything under constant review.”

TUI

At the time of the fires, TUI had approximately 39,000 guests on the island – 7,800 were affected by the situation. They were taken to other locations on the island and are staying in hotels or accommodation designated by the local authorities.

TUI’s latest update states that all TUI holiday bookings to Rhodes will be cancelled up to and including Friday 28 July. It will be taking no guests to the island during this time, but, similar to Jet2, the aircraft will fly out empty so that the scheduled flights from Rhodes can take place. For holidays to the southeastern part of the island, TUI has cancelled all bookings up to and including Sunday 30 July, with a list of affected hotels on their website.

Its websites states: “Guests with bookings whose holidays start in the coming days up to and including Sunday, 30 July 2023, can rebook for other destinations or cancel their trip free of charge. We therefore encourage customers with a planned holiday to Rhodes in the coming days, to switch to other destinations.”

This is an ongoing and developing situation. The information in this article is correct at time of writing.