Greece, Italy and Croatia have all been affected by wildfires after the region endured, and continues to endure, one of the biggest and most prolonged heatwaves ever recorded.
Crete has become the latest Greek island to be placed on wildfire alert after temperatures reached 39C on Wednesday (26 July).
Greece’s civil protection agency has declared there to be a "very high fire risk" on the island, placing it alongside Corfu and particularly Rhodes, where fires are ongoing and are expected to continue for several days after causing devastation across southern areas of the island.
In Italy, wildfires have blazed in southern regions such as Sicily and Sardinia, while northern regions have conversely been hit by torrential rain, causing flash flooding.
In recent days, both Palermo and Catania’s airports were forced to shut temporarily due to wildfires, while several services to Olbia airport were delayed or diverted after the runway became too hot for flights to land.
’Climate upheaval’
Italy’s civil protection minister Nello Musumeci wrote on Facebook: “We are experiencing in Italy one of the most complicated days in recent decades – rainstorms, tornadoes and giant hail in the north, and scorching heat and devastating fires in the centre and south.
“The climate upheaval that has hit our country demands a change of attitude from all of us, at all levels.”
In Portugal, firefighters have fought blazes in and around the beach resort of Cascais, west of Lisbon, while local media in Croatia reported fires south of Dubrovnik. Meanwhile, French authorities said on Tuesday (25 July) first responders were trying to put out a wildfire near Nice airport.
UK airlines and operators have been working hardy to bring holidaymakers home from affected areas, especially Rhodes, and have amended their programmes to the island.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, Tui and easyJet have operated a number of repatriation flights from Rhodes since the fires took hold at the weekend. Tui confirmed on Wednesday it was suspending its holiday programme to southern Rhodes until Saturday 12 August.
To help the industry navigate the situation in Greece, Abta said it has been sending regular operational updates to its members, as well as coordinating conference calls with members, the Greek National Tourist Office and the Foreign Office.
