Blick answers the most important questions: Vacations in the bushfire zone – you need to know this

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The heat and drought in Southern Europe means the risk of wildfires is high. In recent days, the popular Greek holiday island of Rhodes has been devastated by devastating fires. This led to the largest tourist eviction in Greece and a lot of questions. What rights do tourists have in fire zones? Blick provides the most important answers.

There is no fundamental right to cancel in case of forest fires. Because “force majeure” – a factor that the tour operator cannot influence. However, most tour operators issue “goodwill arrangements” on special occasions, such as in Rhodes at the moment. Example: Anyone who has booked a trip with Hotelplan until July 28 (inclusive) can cancel or rebook for free. In Kuoni, this rule is valid for Rhodes trips until 30 July. Tui Suisse suspended all flights and booked travel to Rhodes until Tuesday 25 July; Anyone arriving on July 26 can rebook or cancel free of charge.

“We will reassess the situation on Thursday for Rhodes trips starting Saturday,” said Hotelplan spokesperson Bianca Gähweiler. Meanwhile, Kuoni together with ITS Coop launched a special Edelweiss flight from Rhodes to Zurich at night from Monday to Tuesday. “Priority is given to guests from the red zone who have to leave their hotel rooms,” explains Kuoni spokesperson Markus Flick.

There is less reputation with travel insurance. As a rule, travel interruption insurance is only valid if the trip is interrupted or canceled for health reasons or there is a travel warning from the FDFA. The latter does not currently apply to Greece. Property damaged by fire is also covered only in permanent residence. Check exactly what travel insurance (Allianz, Europäische, HanseMerkur and others) covers in which case.

Theoretically, it is still possible to vacation in Rhodes. Swiss/Edelweiss and other airlines continue to fly to the island. But today and tomorrow almost no one flies: “Everyone but a few customers canceled their Rhodes trip,” says Gähweiler. Flick also assumes that Kuoni customers will enjoy free rebooking.

According to EFFIS (European Forest Fire Information System), fires are not limited to Rhodes (mainly in the Lindos area). There are also fires in Greece on the Euboea peninsula, on the islands of Corfu and Kythira, and near Chalkida, northwest of Athens. There are also many small fires currently raging in southern Italy: in Sicily, Calabria and Apulia.

Important: No goodwill arrangements have been made so far outside of Rhodes. Therefore, if you want to cancel your Mediterranean holiday as a precaution, you must comply with the normal cancellation conditions.

After fires ravaged an area the size of the Tyrol alone in Europe in 2022, the EU intensified its firefighting efforts. In Greece, for example, 200 firefighters were present, along with two firefighting planes, two light planes and a firefighting helicopter. They support local firefighters. Firefighters and firefighters are also available in France, Portugal, Cyprus, Croatia and other countries. Help can be activated quickly across countries. details are here.

First of all, avoid smoking. Close windows and doors. When outside, be sure to wear a mask or other face shield to protect yourself from the smoke and heat. If the fire is nearby: Stay as far away from the fire as possible as it can move very quickly. In an emergency, find a safe place where fire cannot reach you. On/in water or on non-combustible ground (e.g. rocks, boulders, concrete). If the smoke is already there: Crouch – this will provide some protection against heat and smoke.

By the middle of the week, extreme high temperatures in Greece should drop to reasonable levels. However, this does not mean that the risk of forest fire has been eliminated. You still need to be very careful.

Source :Blick