TUI teams to bring customers back from Rhodes
Monday, July 24, 2023
The forest fires are spreading in the southeast of Rhodes in Greece. The TUI teams on site do everything to provide TUI guests with alternative accommodation, food and drinks.
On Sunday, TUI had around 39,000 guests on the island, 7,800 of whom were affected by the situation. They have been transferred to other locations on the island and are staying in hotels or in accommodation designated by the local authorities.
Thomas Ellerbeck, a member of TUI’s Group Executive Committee, stated that they were doing everything they could to support their guests and other holidaymakers in the affected areas on the island in the best possible way. He mentioned that the situation on site was challenging and, as a result, they acted immediately and expanded their teams on Rhodes. He further explained that colleagues from other holiday regions were flown in at short notice and were currently working on Rhodes. According to him, there were over 300 TUI tour guides, drivers, and service colleagues on site, all doing their best to provide assistance.
Thomas Ellerbeck expressed his gratitude to the TUI colleagues and the emergency services in Greece. He also noted that they were arranging flights to send guests from Rhodes back to their home countries, clarifying that no new holidaymakers were being flown into Rhodes. As a solution, he recommended rebooking to other TUI destinations for those planning to start their holiday in the next few days. Thomas Ellerbeck emphasized that they were offering holidaymakers free rebooking to alleviate the situation on Rhodes.
The situation on the ground evolves and changes and is regularly reassessed. All booked trips to Rhodes for departures up to and including Tuesday 25 July are currently being cancelled. TUI Deutschland is offering its customers free rebooking and cancellations until Friday, July 28th. Guests who are flying to Rhodes in the near future are advised to make use of the free rebooking option, as this will further ease the situation and guarantee a smooth holiday for guests. For information about bookings after this time, please contact TUI.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a helpdesk for foreign citizens in Terminal 1 of Rhodes International Airport. The helpdesk, headed by embassy counselor Katerina Tzima, facilitates and coordinates the departure of guests without travel documents in cooperation with the responsible embassies.