Britain accelerates evacuation efforts for its citizens in Greece due to wildfires

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Amid ongoing wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes, airlines in the UK are speeding up evacuation flights to remove thousands of British tourists from both Rhodes and Corfu due to ongoing blazes.

Travel company TUI has taken the precaution of canceling all flights to the destination until Friday. The devastating blazes have caused significant damage to parts of Rhodes, leaving some 10,000 Britons stranded on the island.

Many affected tourists have been forced to seek shelter in schools, airports, and sports centers.

In response to the situation, hundreds of holidaymakers have been brought back to the UK, with further evacuation flights planned as the wildfires enter their seventh day.

"We have cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Friday 28 July, and have also cancelled all outbound flights for customers travelling to impacted hotels up to and including on Sunday 30th July," TUI said in a statement.

"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."

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged holidaymakers to stay in touch with tour operators.

Devastating wildfires continue to sweep through the Greek islands for the seventh consecutive day, including Rhodes, a tourist hotspot near the southeastern coast of Türkiye.

Several countries, including Türkiye, have reached out to help Greece in extinguishing the blazes, which have burned houses and forests.