Jet2 will be bringing 220 holiday back from the stricken island of Rhodes tonight into Manchester Airport
There will be two Rhodes to Leeds Bradford flights, departing tonight with 189 seats and a Rhodes to Birmingham, departing tonight with 189 seats
This is in addition to over 50 scheduled flights operating between Rhodes and the UK this week say the airline
Yesterday, Jet2 cancelled all flights and holidays due to depart to Rhodes up to and including Sunday 30th July, to give customers assurance and to avoid putting further pressure on the island’s infrastructure.
They have contacted affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options and if they wish to receive a refund, we will process this quickly.
The airline will still fly those aircraft to Rhodes, but with no customers onboard, so that they can continue to bring our customers back to the UK on their scheduled flights, as well as any additional Jet2customers who wish to return to the UK.
Their first repatriation landed from Rhodes into Leeds Bradford late on Sunday evening, carrying 95 Jet2.com and Jet2holidays customers back to the UK. Customers were also provided with onward ground transportation.
They have significantly increased our presence on the island too, with experienced colleagues arriving from other destinations, as well as a dedicated senior team flying from the UK to Rhodes yesterday.
These people are there to look after our customers in evacuation centres, in resorts, and at Rhodes Airport and have staffed transfer coaches taking customers to the airport from evacuation centres today.
Airline TUI said “three dedicated flights” had returned to the UK from the Greek island overnight, adding it had “plans in place to get everyone affected back as soon as possible”.
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.”
Some 30,000 people fled the flames on Rhodes at the weekend, making it Greece’s largest-ever wildfire evacuation.
The Greek Prime Minister has said that Greece is “at war with the fire”, warning people to remain on constant alert.
In a statement to parliament, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said there are “three difficult days ahead of us” before forecasters expect the temperature to drop in Rhodes.
The Greek Prime Minister said: “In Rhodes, after the second day, there were some signs of remission…but later, the flames covered rapidly a huge area, at the same time when 15 fire-fighting airplanes were operating and tens of fire trucks.”
He continued: “This battle is uneven, and it will keep being like that for as long as the conditions remain hard. We’re at war with the fire and we will rebuild everything lost, will compensate anyone affected.”
He added that only 10 per cent of tourists on the island have been affected by the wildfires.
The U.K. government has no plans to urge Brits not to travel towards the Rhodes
“The current situation is impacting on a limited area in Rhodes, and whilst it’s right to keep it under review and it’s possible that the advice may change we do not want to act out of proportion to the situation on the ground,” said the PM’s spokesman earlier today
