What are your rights from flights to hotels in Rhodes and Corfu?

What are your rights from flights to hotels if you have booked to travel to Rhodes and Corfu?

• Those on the islands already face a battle to get their money back from insurers 

Holidaymakers in Rhodes or Corfu or who had planned to go there face difficulties in getting compensation – because the Foreign Office still has not advised people not to travel there.

Incredibly the government department – while mentioning the problems – simply says ‘check with your travel operator or hotel prior to travel that the area you plan to visit’.

But while legally it is a grey area for insurers, experts believe it would be ‘unconscionable’ for airlines not to refund tourists who decide against flying to fire-ravaged Rhodes.

The comments by Which? Travel editor Rory Boland came after easyJet confirmed it was operating flights to the Greek island as normal, while fellow travel firms Jet2 and Tui suspended their trips and refunded their customers. 

Tourists wait for departing planes at the airport, after being evacuated following a wildfire on the island of Rhodes, Greece

Calm after the firestorm: one tourist rests their eyes after escaping the Greek inferno hell

Smoke billows into the skies as Rhodes faces terrifying wildfires amid the blistering heatwave across Europe, forcing mass evacuations

He encouraged more airlines to be ‘flexible’ should customers decide not to travel due to the six-day blaze. 

READ MORE: Holiday wildfire hell spreads to Corfu as tourists are evacuated from inferno

Mr Boland said: ‘It’s likely that those who are due to go to Rhodes now won’t want to go, and given the emergency operations that are taking place on the island, local authorities could probably do without more tourists arriving. 

‘While there is no official Foreign Office advice against travel to Rhodes, it would be unconscionable for holiday companies to cash in on travellers’ sensible decision not to travel by not refunding or rebooking them.’ 

Greece has issued warnings over ‘extreme fire risks’ in the areas of Attica, Evia, Boeotia, Corinthia, Ilia, Argolis, Messinia and Rhodes.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was ‘the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country.’ 

So far, the total number of people evacuated or redirected due to the fires has reached 19,000, according to the Greek government. 

Hundreds of holidaymakers were evacuated from hotels as a result of raging wildfires across the island

Jess Bailey and her family were taken to an evacuation centre in Rhodes ahead of rescue flights coming to save Britons today

Tourists wait for departing planes at the airport today, after being evacuated following a wildfire on the island of Rhodes, Greece

How have different British travel companies responded to the emergency?

EasyJet announced it would operate repatriation flights to bring home British holidaymakers trapped on Rhodes.

Two rescue flights, an A320 and an A321 aircraft totalling 421 additional seats, will fly from Gatwick on Monday, and a third flight will operate on Tuesday.

Nine flights already operating between Rhodes and the UK will also continue alongside them.

Flights are still operating for customers booked to travel to or from Rhodes before July 29, but if they would like to change their plans, customers can change the date of their flight or request a flight voucher.

Jet2 was the first to announce it had cancelled all flights and holidays due to depart to Rhodes up to and including Sunday July 30.

Aircraft will be flown to Rhodes with no customers onboard, so they can bring customers on the island back to the UK.

The company said it would be contacting customers to arrange refunds or re-bookings.

Tui said it had cancelled all flights and holidays to Rhodes up to and including Tuesday July 25, with passengers receiving full refunds.

Those due to travel on Wednesday July 26 can amend to another holiday or cancel free of charge.

It said customers currently in Rhodes will return on their intended flights home.

Thomas Cook announced it had cancelled all holidays to Kiotari and Lardos – the areas of Rhodes most at risk – up to and including Monday July 31, and would be in touch to offer full refunds.

Customers travelling to other parts of the island on July 24 and 25 are being called in departure order to receive a full refund if they wish to cancel their trip.

Those travelling on Wednesday July 26 will be contacted no later than 6am on July 25 to discuss options.

British Airways said it was still operating flights to Rhodes as normal.

However, customers currently on the island needing to come home early can change their return flight free of charge, and anyone travelling out from the UK in the next week can postpone their flight to a later date.

Of that number, 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea.

An expert warned that tourists whose holidays are disrupted by the blaze or those who choose not to travel are ‘unlikely’ to be covered by their travel insurance. 

Louise Clark, policy advisor at the Association of British Insurers, said: ‘Travel insurance is primarily to protect you against what can be incredibly high costs of needing emergency medical treatment overseas, but is unlikely to provide cover if you’re unable to go outside on your holiday because of a wildfire.

‘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. 

‘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.’ 

Ms Clark added that some insurers provide ‘add-ons’ available to customers at the time they buy their policy which do protect against natural disasters. 

If you are a Jet2 customer, the company whose flight has been cancelled, the company has said it will contact all those affected.

TUI customers due to fly out to Rhodes on Wednesday have been told they can rebook or cancel free of charge.

‘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). 

As the UK foreign office has stopped short of advising people against travelling to Rhodes, it is slightly more difficult for those who are on holiday there to seek compensation.

Holidaymakers are only guaranteed compensation through travel insurance if the government advises against travel there. 

‘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) told Sky News. 

‘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.’

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