Consumer groups are warning travelers can either fly into a disaster area or lose hundreds of pounds. Photo: SOCRATES BALTAGIANNIS/AVALON, he was under increased pressure to put the fire-ravaged Greek island on the no-travel list.
Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP who chairs the foreign affairs select committee, said the airlines and travel firms that still travel are focused on “profits.”
The Rutland and Melton MP has joined calls for the government to warn holidaymakers from traveling to the wildfire-ravaged resort island.
Consumer groups and politicians have previously said that unless the government changes recommendations, travelers will face a choice: either fly into a disaster area or lose hundreds of pounds.
The Liberal Democrats denounced the government's “staggering inaction”, calling on it to recommend against all but essential travel to the island.
'N Nightmarish Scenes'
It came as Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister of Greece, said his country was in a “war on fire” and was going through three more difficult days as temperatures continued to rise amid Greece's longest heat wave on record.
On Sunday, temperatures reached 45°C in parts of Greece, the hottest in 50 years.
Extreme heat combined with strong winds have made it almost impossible to contain the fires in Rhodes, with more than 10,000 British holidaymakers believed to be stranded on the island.
Olga Kefalogianni, Greek Tourism Minister, said 10 to 20% of the island was affected by the fire ov, and 15% of his hotels were destroyed.
Corfu, another favorite of British holidaymakers, was destroyed. were also hit by the forest fires on Monday, which forced more than 2,000 people to evacuate on the north coast of Corfu.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, said his country was in a state of “war with fire.” Photo: PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
On the third island, Evia, the second largest in Greece, there were perhaps the worst fires. Local fire departments described “nightmarish scenes” to local residents as the flames engulfed villages and farmland. flights to Rhodes until Sunday.
Emergency repatriation flights operated throughout Monday, with some described as “half full” and boarding of these aircraft was “chaotic”.
Consumer group What? Without warning, foreign ministries have said that travelers who do not wish to travel but are denied the opportunity to rebook are likely to be forced to pay bills for reasonable action.
Ms Kearns also spoke out in support of the change in advice, but said that, like her European counterparts, the UK does not want to do anything to harm Greece's heavily dependent tourism economy.
She targeted those travel firms that continued to make trips even when the situation was clear.
Ms Kearns told The Guardian: “I know the government is legally obligated to bring British citizens home if they're in trouble, but tour companies should honor their obligations and not profit from flights bringing tourists and then in some cases go away and let the government decide how to get them home.”
Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton. Photo: RICHARD TOWNSHEND/RICHARD TOWNSHEND
One Briton suffered a £10,000 loss after his family holiday was ruined by the ongoing wildfires.
Chris Elworthy, 42, a farmer from Faversham in Kent, was due to fly easyJet to Rhodes with his wife Emma, 43, and their two children before both bookings were cancelled.
He said: “Holiday insurance says that we are not insured because we did not have additional disaster insurance in addition to our regular insurance.”
EasyJet said it now offered Mr. Elworthy a voucher for the cost of his flight as a goodwill gesture, but he needed to contact his insurance company about his stay.
No 10 defended its approach, saying its recommendations were focused on people's safety and were informed by its representatives on the ground.
A spokesperson for #10 said: “The current situation affects a limited area in Rhodes and while it is right to keep it under review and it is possible that recommendations may change, we do not want to act disproportionately to the situation on the ground.”
This comes after Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Michael Martin said the Foreign Office has expanded its capacity to help citizens affected by the fires.
Speaking at Curragh Camp in County Kildare on Monday, he also suggested that people be compensated for not traveling, saying that “reimbursement would be the right approach there.”
“Deeply irresponsible”
Several airlines, including British Airways, are now offering those planning to travel to Rhodes in the coming days the option to rebook their flight to a later date.
However, Ryanair has been criticized by some for continuing to fly as normal without the ability to change bookings.
Rory Boland, travel editor for Which? , was “extremely irresponsible”.
He said, “Some clients will find this uncomfortable as they are cashing in on the disaster. It's very unfair.” Ryanair said it was operating as normal as the bushfires had not affected it.
Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, previously said the airline did not see passengers wishing to cancel flights to Rhodes over the weekend, given that the fires were mostly in the south of the island, at the airport and at most resorts in the north.
On Monday, easyJet scheduled two additional repatriation flights, while Jet2 scheduled three additional flights for 600 people, and TUI on Sunday took three planes back to the UK overnight.
Those who returned from Rhodes criticized the way some of their airlines handled repatriation flights, and several passengers criticized the booking system.
34-year-old Nicola Bartlett and her husband Ross, who put traveled with their young daughter Bea, said: “There was no connection with TUI, they didn't tell us anything – all our things are there, we just had to leave our things in our room, we have no luggage, nothing.”
Aleksandra Roskacha, 28, who came to Rhodes from Dublin with her friend Mateusz Bestak, 28, told The Telegraph: “It was chaos, no information. The flight was more than half empty, and it speaks for itself that the communication on their part was so bad that the girls jumped on the plane five minutes before departure.
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