Airline claims there is 'high demand' for trips to Rhodes despite recent wildfires

More than 20,000 holidaymakers and locals were evacuated last month as fires, believed to have been started by arsonists, swept across the Greek island during a scorching heatwave.

Holiday providers including Jet2 cancelled all booked trips to Rhodes for a week and charted additional flights to bring people back to the UK.

But the Leeds-based company said the blazes have not deterred tourists from travelling to Rhodes or any of the other Greek islands.

Jet2 said it has charted extra flights to Rhodes and Crete in November, which will provide an extra 11,000 seats. They will depart from nine UK airports, including Leeds Bradford Airport and Manchester Airport.

Chief Executive Steve Heapy said: “There continues to be enormous demand for Summer 24 from British holidaymakers, who want nothing more than to get away to the sunshine and enjoy their well-deserved holidays."

He added: “Extending the season to these two popular Greek destinations means we are doing exactly that, giving customers more opportunity to get away and enjoy a much-needed holiday later in the season.”

Last week, travel agent Tui has revealed it is expecting to suffer a £21m hit from wildfires in Rhodes last month.

The Germany-based airline and package holiday group, which evacuated 8,000 guests, said there will be extensive costs for cancellations and lost business, compensation for customers, and repatriation flights.

Greece battled 10 major wildfires last month, including blazes outside Athens and Rhodes, during three successive heat waves.

Around 200 square miles of land have been burned so far this year, more than double the annual total in 2022.