Holiday operators face questions over Rhodes wildfires

Holiday operators and airlines were continuing to fly tourists to Rhodes as late as yesterday despite the fact that thousands were being evacuated from resorts because of raging wildfires.

Evacuees sit inside a stadium following their evacuation during a forest fire on the island of Rhodes

EasyJet, Ryanair and British Airways were taking passengers to the island amid reports of holidaymakers having to walk miles with young children, their mouths and noses covered with wet T-shirts.

This has, of course been a fast-moving situation, with the extent of the disruption at resorts becoming clear little by little.

Something has clearly gone very badly wrong, however, when passengers report being flown to the Greek island only to find that their hotels and resorts have been closed and they need to be evacuated immediately.

Faced with an unfolding disaster on their homeland, the people of Rhodes deserve praise for their efforts in looking after thousands of tourists.Irish dentist Tom Rogers, whose family had to sleep on the floor of a school hall after they were evacuated from their hotel, thanked local volunteers, emergency services and charity workers who provided food, water and mattresses.

“The kindness and generosity of the Greek people in an emergency has been overwhelming,” he said.

But the local population, who have plenty of their own problems to contend with, should not have found themselves having to come to the aid of tourists who should not have been flown to the island in the first place.

When the flames have been doused and all the holidaymakers are safely back home, airlines and holiday operators must face searching questions over how this was allowed to happen and how a similar situation can be prevented in the future.

As the effects of global warming continue to lead to hotter Mediterranean summers, it is imperative that contingency plans are put in place to come into effect at the earliest signs of the sort of problems that have developed on Rhodes over the past few days.

Local people should not be forced to come to the rescue.