Rhodes wildfires: What rights do holidaymakers have as thousands forced to flee hotels?
Raging wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes have sparked the evacuation of around 2,000 tourists from its resorts.
The Greek government said it had evacuated 19,000 people in the “largest ever” wildfire evacuation in the country’s history.
Local media said the fires had reached three hotels, which had already been evacuated, with three coastguard vessels plus one from the army evacuating people from two beaches.
But what should holidaymakers do if they have booked to travel to the island?
Largest ever evacuation from Greece – latest on Rhodes wildfires
Are airlines still flying to Rhodes?
Jet2 cancelled all flights and holidays to Rhodes until next Monday (31 July), saying “we will be contacting affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options”.
TUI also cancelled all flights to the island until Tuesday, with customers looking to fly out on Wednesday given the opportunity to rebook or cancel free of charge.
EasyJet cancelled package holidays until Tuesday, and though it said it is currently “operating flights as normal” it was offering those who had booked to travel to or from Rhodes the chance to transfer to another date or request a flight voucher up to next Saturday.
Meanwhile, British Airways said it is offering customers on the island who need to return home early the opportunity to change flights free of charge and Ryanair said flights were “currently operating as normal and unaffected by the forest fires”.
Thomas Cook has cancelled all holidays to areas of Rhodes most affected by the wildfire – such as Kiotari and Lardos – until July 31. The travel agency announced it had been in touch will all customers due to travel today (23 July) or tomorrow (24 July) to those areas to arrange “swift refunds”. It has also offered full refunds to customers due to depart for other parts of the island on Sunday and Monday who wish to cancel.
Thomas Cook will be in touch with people booked to travel on Tuesday to discuss their options, the firm added.
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Tourists flee hotels as Greek wildfires rage
If I’m with another operator, can I get a refund or a cancellation?
If it’s a package, the Package Travel Regulations say holidaymakers can cancel and receive a full refund “if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity which significantly affect the performance of the package or the carriage of passengers to the destination”.
“If you have been notified that your holiday which is due to depart in the next few days has been cancelled, then your travel company will be able to discuss your options with you – that could be offering a full refund or they might be able to discuss an alternative holiday,” said Emma Brennan, a spokesperson for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
Those seeking refunds for independent travel could have less luck.
“If you booked everything independently, if you booked a flight and that flight has now been cancelled, then they will need to provide a refund for that, then you would need to go through and speak to every element of your travel provider to understand what the terms and conditions are – what’s the arrangement with the hotel or accommodation that you have booked, what’s the refund policy, the same for any transfer or car hire,” she said.
The fine print of holiday conditions will differ with each operator.
What is the foreign office saying?
The UK’s foreign office has urged British travellers affected by the wildfires to follow guidance from Greek emergency services.
“If you are planning to travel to Rhodes, please check with your travel operator or hotel prior to travel that the area you plan to visit is not impacted by the current wildfires,” it said.
However, it has stopped short of advising against travelling to Rhodes – a move that would significantly help anyone seeking compensation.
A burnt hotel during a wildfire on Rhodes
Am I covered by my travel insurance?
Whether holidaymakers are guaranteed compensation under their travel insurance policies hinges on if the UK government advises against travel to the area.
“The primary purpose of travel insurance is to cover the costs of emergency medical treatments or repatriation should the worst happen, which can run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds,” a spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.
“It can cover you if you need to cancel or cut short your holiday, but it’s likely this will only be under limited circumstances, for example if you or a close family member fall ill, not because of a disinclination to travel.
“Insurance can cover you if advice from the government changes since you’ve booked your trip, and it’s no longer considered safe to travel to the destination.”
A beach covered in smoke during the wildfires
Instead, anyone concerned about travelling to the area should check with their travel provider and air carrier, the spokesperson added.
Some travel insurance policies may cover affected holidays under certain circumstances, so people are advised to check the scope of cover provided by their travel insurance.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
Team went from sloppy to celebratory in nerve-shredding quarters
Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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