Dutch tourists fleeing Rhodes wildfires arrive at Schiphol; tour operators cancel flights until Tuesday

The first Dutch people who fled the forest fires in Rhodes have arrived at Schiphol Airport, the tv news program Hart van Nederland reports. Travel agents are trying to get tourists off the Greek island or to safer locations. The forest fire is still spreading on the Greek island. Rhodes receives urgent help from abroad.

Travel company TUI will not bring new travelers to the Greek island of Rhode until Tuesday, where large forest fires are underway, a spokesperson announced. At the moment, TUI Netherlands has about 50 travelers on Rhodes who have been evacuated, the travel company reported. "We are in contact with them to assess their situation. We are currently looking into the possibilities of bringing them to the Netherlands."

Travelers who planned to leave for Rhodes by Tuesday were informed that their trip had been canceled. "We are doing our best to find an alternative for them. To this end, we will contact them in the coming days." This applies to all TUI Group countries, a statement said. "The situation on the island does not allow us to bring new travelers to the island."

Tour operator Corendon will also not allow new vacationers to travel to the Greek island of Rhodes until Tuesday, CEO Steven van der Heijden announced. The tour operator currently has about 2,000 vacationers on Rhodes, 200 were in the south of the island. "These have now been evacuated to the north on the government's instructions," says Van der Heijden. "It is now important that we bring them back to the Netherlands. We want to do that with flights from Greece and Turkey that stop over in Rhodes."

Furthermore, travel company Sunweb will not bring new travelers to the Greek island of Rhodes on Sunday and Monday, according to a spokesperson. Currently, Sunweb has about 250 travelers on Rhodes who have been evacuated, including 100 Dutch people, the travel company informed. "They are accommodated in hotels in the north of the island and can catch a flight to Amsterdam tonight," the spokesperson said.

Transavia, however, will continue to fly to Rhodes for the time being, a spokesperson said. The airline does, however, keep in touch with the authorities to monitor safety on the Greek island, where fierce forest fires are currently raging in the south.
Transavia expects the departing aircraft to be emptier. "We fly with our own passengers, but also with travelers from TUI, Corendon, and Sunweb. Those tour operators are now disembarking their customers," the spokesman explains. According to him, the planes not only leave to bring people but also to take them back.

The island has been hit by forest fires that have also affected Dutch vacationers. According to a government official, some 19,000 tourists and residents, including Dutch citizens, have been moved to safety. On Saturday evening, several dozen Dutch tourists were evacuated, according to Dutch tour operators. They were accommodated, for example, in sports halls.