02 Jul 2024by James Chapple
Wildfires on the Greek island of Kos have prompted warnings from easyJet holidays and Jet2holidays, urging customers to follow the advice from their hotels and local authorities in the event of any evacuation orders.
EasyJet holidays said it was closely monitoring a “fast-evolving wildfire situation” in the Kardamena area of the island, a sentiment echoed by Jet2holidays in an update to its customers.
In an update issued at 10am on Tuesday (2 July), easyJet holidays said it had been advised by local authorities the wildfire “was being brought under control”.
Hundreds of firefighters on Monday (1 July) fought fires on Kos as well as on the more northerly island of Chios, supported by a number of firefighting aircraft and helicopters.
Update: Mayor of Kos thanks trade for support following wildfire
According to reports in Greece’s national press, more than 50 wildfires were reported in a 24-hour period, prompting Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to warn of a “particularly dangerous” summer for wildfires.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June regarding weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this season,” Sky News reports Mitsotakis as saying.
It comes after a challenging summer last year for Greece, in particular, and several other destinations in the southern Mediterranean after wildfires raged across the region, with the Greek island of Rhodes experiencing the most severe consequences.
“We’re closely monitoring the fast-evolving wildfire situation in the Kardamena area of Kos, and working with our teams in destination,” said easyJet holidays in a message to customers late on Monday evening (1 July), with specific guidance to guests who have been evacuated.
“For customers who have been evacuated from their hotel, we have members of our easyJet holidays team at all rendezvous points, to provide further support and guidance, so we ask our customers to make themselves known to these representatives,” the operator continued.
“We’d like to remind our customers currently in Kardamena to continue following the guidance of their hotel and the local authorities, and continue to check SMS and email for any updates from us.”
EasyJet holidays sought to reassure customers travelling to Kos in the coming days that the majority of the island is unaffected by the fires and holidays are going ahead as planned under “normal bookings terms and conditions”.
“We’ve proactively contacted customers due to travel to the impacted area of Kardamena, regarding their holiday,” the operator added. “We ask that customers continue to check their emails as we’ll be in touch if their holiday is impacted by the evolving situation.”
Jet2holidays, meanwhile, issued an update during the early hours of Tuesday morning (2 July), in which it said it was aware of the “ongoing situation” around wildfires in the Kardamena area of Kos.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and colleagues is always our first priority and we would like to advise our customers on the island to follow the guidance of the local authorities,” said Jet2.
“Currently, our Jet2.com flights are due to operate as scheduled today and the airport remains operational. However, due to the situation, the airport may be congested and you may experience longer than normal wait times.”
Late last month, the Foreign Office issued a wildfire warning for Greece following what is believed to have been the earliest major summer heatwave in recorded Greek history.
Elsewhere, firefighters in neighbouring Turkey fought a number of fires near Izmir and along the Turkish riviera over the weekend, with temperatures topping 40C.
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