Travel firms that continue to fly tourists to Rhodes have been accused of “profiteering” by a senior Conservative, as ministers faced pressure over official travel advice for the island, where 10,000 British tourists have been stranded.
As flights rescuing holidaymakers began arriving in the UK on Monday, calls continued for a change in the Foreign Office’s stance on the categorisation of Rhodes to enable tourists to get a refund for their trips through their travel insurance.
Alicia Kearns, a Tory MP who chairs the Commons foreign affairs select committee, backed calls for the government to advise the public against travel to Rhodes, but added that she understood it was reluctant to be an outlier.
“The reality of the government’s position is in line with our allies in Europe, because no one wants to compromise Greece’s heavily tourism-dependent economy at this time,” she said.
She also drew a distinction between companies that had acted to cancel package holidays and others who had continued to operate flights.
“Ultimately, we need companies to step up and recognise that people will not be able to have the holiday that was booked for them,” she said.
“I know there is a statutory duty for the government to get British citizens home if they are in trouble, but travel companies have to live up to their obligations rather than making profits from flights carrying tourists out, and then stepping away and letting the government sort out how to get them home in some cases.”
Earlier on Monday, a Foreign Office minister declined to advise people not to travel, suggesting instead that they contact their tour operator, and stressing that the fires were confined to one part of the island.
Andrew Mitchell also said evacuations were not taking place on Corfu, areas of which were also ablaze, as had been reported. He said this was because the fires there were not affecting tourist areas.
While Mitchell said in the morning that his department had received 20 requests for assistance, a spokesperson later said it would “not be providing a running commentary” on the number of British nationals asking for help.
Meanwhile, there was pressure on the government from Labour MPs and the Liberal Democrats, who said that Rhodes should immediately be added to the “red list” of places to which the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel.
“Many families are unable to make a claim against their insurance – leaving them paying the penalty for deciding not to fly out to the island,” said Layla Moran, the Lib Dems’ foreign affairs spokesperson.
Amid criticism over the length of time it took for the UK government to deploy a team of officials to the island to liaise with stranded British tourists, Stephen Doughty, a shadow foreign minister, wrote to the Foreign Office to ask when the decision to send the team was taken.
He also asked that travel operators be urged to provide flexibility to those who have trips coming up to affected areas and want to avail themselves of alternatives.
Mitchell had estimated the number of British tourist on Rhodes at between 7,000 and 10,000. When asked if the government was officially advising against more people travelling there on Monday, he said holidaymakers should contact their tour operator.
“There were only 10 free beds on the whole island when I asked yesterday,” he told Times Radio. “But we think something like 1,000 beds may well come back on stream today as others don’t now come and therefore more beds are available.”
Mitchell said the government was not advising against travel to Rhodes because “it’s important to remember that only 10% of the island is affected by these fires, and therefore it is the tourist companies and the holiday experts who are best placed to give guidance on whether or not a family or individuals’ holidays are going to be ruined by these events”.
Asked if he would personally go on holiday there at the moment, he said: “I think I probably wouldn’t. But the point is that if I had booked a holiday I would take advice and would take advice also from the tour operator.”
