Tour operators have flown more than 2,000 tourists back to their countries from Greece today, Monday, as wildfires rage on the island of Rhodes, which the government described as the largest evacuation ever undertaken in the country. More return flights are scheduled for today and tomorrow while the fires remain out of control. The Civil Protection Agency has warned of the risk of further fires in almost every region of Greece amidst a heatwave affecting the country.
The wildfires are ongoing across Greece today, forcing authorities to evacuate people from a beach on the island of Corfu, while tourists flocked to the airport in Rhodes after thousands fled from hotels and resorts. Konstantinos Tarasleas, the deputy mayor of Rhodes, stated to the public broadcaster ERT: "We are on the seventh day of the fire, and it has not been brought under control."
The fires, which have been burning since last Wednesday in Rhodes, have prompted the evacuation of 19,000 people as the flames reached coastal resorts on the southeastern coast of the island. Rhodes and Corfu are among Greece's top destinations, particularly for tourists from Britain and Germany. Sea evacuation operations also took place in Corfu, where 59 people were evacuated from one beach yesterday, Sunday.
Tour operators have canceled flights heading to Rhodes. Tourists spent the night on the airport floor waiting for their return flights. British airline EasyJet announced yesterday that it decided to operate two flights today from Rhodes to Gatwick Airport in London, in addition to the nine flights that are already operating between the island and Gatwick.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated in Parliament, "We must remain on high alert over the next few weeks. We are at war, and we will rebuild what we have lost and compensate those affected." He added, "The climate crisis is already manifesting itself here and will reveal itself through greater disasters across the Mediterranean."
After leaving their hotels and resorts, tourists spent the night on the floor of Rhodes Airport waiting for their return flights. The first flight left last night. Andrew Mitchell, a minister of state at the British Foreign Office, estimated that up to 10,000 Brits are on the island.
Authorities in Corfu provided shelter for about 2,500 people in places including sports fields, although many returned to their hotels today, Monday. Greece frequently suffers from wildfires during the summer months, but climate change has led to more severe heatwaves in Southern Europe, raising fears of a decline in tourist numbers.
Tourism accounts for 18 percent of Greece’s GDP and provides one in five jobs, with Rhodes and many other Greek islands being even more dependent on tourism. Temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country last week and are expected to continue rising in the coming days.
For its part, Ryanair announced yesterday that its flights to and from Rhodes are operating as usual. The company's CFO Neil Sorhan said, "The company is monitoring the situation today." He added, "We have many customers wanting to return home. We won’t abandon them, so we will be back again."
