Hundreds of holidaymakers have landed back in the UK following wildfires on Rhodes, with more repatriation flights set to take place.
As many as 10,000 Britons are estimated to be on the popular Greek island, part of which has been ravaged by the blazes, forcing many to sleep in schools, airports and sports centres.
Rishi Sunak has urged people to remain in touch with tour operators, some of which have begun sending repatriation flights to bring people back to the UK.
Tui confirmed that holidaymakers returned on “three dedicated flights” overnight, with plans to bring more back “as soon as possible” in place.
Jet2 said a repatriation flight carrying 95 passengers landed at Leeds Bradford Airport on Sunday evening before another four leave the island later on Monday.
Airline easyJet will operate two flights totalling 421 seats on Monday and a third on Tuesday, in addition to its nine scheduled flights to the Greek island.
However, people have not been discouraged from going to Rhodes, a decision Downing Street has defended.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Our advice is focused on the safety of British nationals and enabling people to make an informed decision about the situation on the ground.
“The current situation is impacting on a limited area in Rhodes and whilst it’s right to keep it under review and it’s possible that the advice may change we do not want to act out of proportion to the situation on the ground.”
Meanwhile, a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed a team has arrived on Rhodes to support travel operators in bringing Britons home.
The wildfire had been confined to the island’s mountainous centre but, aided by winds, very high temperatures and dry conditions, it spread towards the coast on the island’s central-eastern side.
Claire Jones and her husband Paul, both aged 36, who were celebrating their honeymoon, were evacuated on Saturday by coach from the Village Rhodes Beach Resort near Lardos.
Ms Jones, from Leicestershire, told the PA news agency: “It was really quite traumatic driving to where we went because you could see everyone fleeing their hotels, and people were walking along the beaches, walking along the roads, and they had babies and small children.”
Some holidaymakers vented their frustrations at travel firms for their lack of information about how the wildfires will affect their holiday plans.
Chris Elworthy, 42, a farmer from Faversham, was due to fly with easyJet to Rhodes with his wife Emma, 43, and two children, Thomas, 13, and Charlotte, 11, on Saturday, for a holiday at a private villa in Pefkos – before both bookings were cancelled.
The former Royal Engineers officer said: “We are now £10,000 out of pocket; easyJet is not helping at all with a flight, despite having promised on Twitter that they would provide a voucher or another flight… 24 hours later they have done nothing.”
Helen Tonks, a mother-of-six from Cheshire, said she was flown into a “living nightmare” by Tui at 11pm on Saturday and discovered her hotel had been closed.
She told The Sun newspaper: “We landed and were told ‘Sorry, you can’t go to your hotel – it’s burned down’.
“We had no idea the fires were this bad or as close to the hotels as they were. Tui said nothing, not even when our flight was delayed. Even the captain’s chat on the plane was upbeat.
“We would never have come if we had known.”
Dan Jones, a sports teacher from Torquay, had to climb on to a fishing trawler with his sons on Saturday night, describing it as “the scariest moment” in his life and adding: “What brave boys.”
Nursery worker Vicky Morris, 34, from Cheltenham, told The Sun her four-year-old daughter Cassie Bell asked: “Are we going to die, Mummy?”
All Thomas Cook customers who had to leave their accommodation over the weekend are either returning home or staying in another hotel, the firm said.
Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays due to depart for Rhodes up to and including Sunday, while Tui has done the same for departures before and on Friday.
Travel firms have also increased the number of its staff based on the island.
Sir David King, one of the UK’s leading climate scientists, said tourists should see the Greek wildfires as a “big, big warning”.
He told PA: “If you are in one of these very warm areas and you haven’t got air conditioning indoors you could suffer terribly – many people will die from heat stress.”
