Jet2 announces four Rhodes 'repatriation flights' including Leeds Bradford Airport amid Greece fire chaos

While Leeds has been battered with rain and colder temperatures, large parts of Europe are currently experiencing extreme weather with temperatures reaching 48C.

Widespread wildfires on Mediterranean islands Rhodes and Corfu have led to the evacuation of thousands of tourists off the islands in what the Greek government called the country’s biggest such evacuation in modern history.

The situation has led to airlines cancelling flights to Rhodes, instead only operating repatriation flights to bring tourists back home.

As of Monday, July 24, Jet2 has cancelled all its flights to Rhodes for the whole week, including from Leeds Bradford Airport, and will instead send planes to bring people back to the UK. Tui has cancelled all their flights to the island until Wednesday (July 26). 

Airline EasyJet is still operating flights to the island, but has cancelled their package holidays until Wednesday, and Ryanair is running all their flights as normal. 

On Monday, Jet2 announced that two repatriation flight from Rhodes to Leeds Bradford Airport with 189 seats will depart in the evening, along with flights to Manchester and Birmingham.

This is in addition to over 50 scheduled flights operating between the island and the UK between July 23 and July 30.

A spokesperson for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “We understand how difficult this experience has been for many, and our entire focus is on looking after our customers. We have a significantly expanded presence in Rhodes, with a huge team of experienced colleagues providing all the support we can for our customers, whether that is in affected areas or at Rhodes Airport.

“We have also put on four repatriation flights to bring our customers home, which is on top of our scheduled programme of flights that will continue to operate from Rhodes to the UK this week. We are continuing to make decisions in the best interests of our customers, and we are keeping everything under constant review.”

If you have a flight booked to anywhere in the affected area, it is highly recommended that you contact the airline for the most up to date information on your journey.