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Jet2.com and Jet2holidays operated ten flights to the UK from Rhodes on Monday (July 24), including four repatriation flights and six scheduled flights, and announced on Tuesday that they will continue the programme to relocate British tourists from the ongoing wildfires.

The current heatwave in parts of Europe has seen temperatures well above 40C, with wildfires on the Greek island leading to the evacuation of thousands of tourists.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “We will operate a repatriation programme [on Tuesday] in tandem with today’s programme of nine scheduled flights, which will meet the demand we have.

All flights due to make the journey to Rhodes, Greece are affected by Jet2's announcement - Credit: Adobe

“We have a hugely expanded team of colleagues in Rhodes, and they are present throughout resorts, evacuation centres, and at Rhodes Airport. Our colleagues are highly visible in their red uniforms and are working around the clock to communicate with, and look after, our customers. They are working in extremely difficult circumstances, and we are incredibly grateful for their efforts.

“Although events moved incredibly quickly over the weekend, it is extremely important to note that we acted immediately to suspend flights and holidays to Rhodes when we learned that the authorities were asking hotels in affected areas to evacuate.”

Jet2 also said all their planned flights and holidays to Rhodes remain cancelled up to and including Sunday July 30, to avoid putting further pressure on the island’s infrastructure and to assure customers.

They added: “For customers due to travel to Rhodes beyond Sunday 30th July, we are continually reviewing the situation and will provide an update in due course. We will make this decision with the best interests of our customers in mind.

Flames burn a forest during a wildfire in Vati village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on Tuesday. A third successive heatwave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of the country following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days. (Picture: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

We know that many of our customers have been through an incredibly difficult time, and we are truly sorry to hear this. Although extraordinary events such as these are completely outside of our control, our total focus is on looking after our customers and colleagues.”

Rhodes wildfires: Leeds based Jet2 issues new update on repatriation flights from Greek island

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