French tourists returning from the island of Rhodes are “happy to be back”

Holidays ruined by the flames for thousands of tourists in Greece. This is the first time that Julien and Sarah are relieved on returning from vacation: “Glad to be back! It scared us.” This couple from the north of France was not directly affected by the fire on the island of Rhodes, but the anxiety began to rise as information was reported to them on the spot. “There were five hotels burned down”says Sarah. “Sea excursions have been stoppedexplains Julian. A boat that skirted the south of the island had to leave room to allow the evacuation of people and let the canadairs work too.

“The sky was all orange”

Charline, 14, was on a trip to summer camp. During an excursion to the south of the island, with her friends, she had to turn back. The image of fire remained in his mind on his return to Paris. “We saw flames, a big black cloudsays Charlie. Ashes falling on buses or cars. It was a bit scary. The sky was all orange, all weird, I had never seen that.”

The group of 20 teenagers thought they were stuck on the island because of the flames and also for fear of missing the plane. Because it’s a rush at Rhodes airport. Thousands of European holidaymakers have been driven from their hotels by the flames and are seeking to return early. Nassim, the host of the summer camp was foreseeing: “It was crowded at the airport. For check-in, it was a bit complicated.”

“We were really scared but suddenly we anticipated as much as possible. We got up super early to get the flight.”

Nassim, animator

at franceinfo

Contacted, the company Transavia indicates that its agents are overwhelmed. Unlike the tour operator TUI and the company Jet2, the subsidiary of the Airfrance group is maintaining its flights between France and the Greek island for the moment. Starting today, rescheduling tickets is made free by the end of the month. Some travelers have already canceled their holidays to Greece.