06 September 2023 , 16:09
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Jet2 has announced it's cancelling all flights and holidays to Skiathos for the next week, after the Greek hotspot has been hit by severe weather.
The island has been hit with severe rainstorms and flooding that has destroyed hundreds of homes.
Rescuers having been working full tilt to save people trapped in flooded houses after the storm turned roads into rivers and unleashed 7,000 lightning bolts over the island.
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A statement from the brand explained: "Due to these extraordinary circumstances, and with our customers’ best interests in mind, we have taken the decision to cancel all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Skiathos up to and including Tuesday 12th September."
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(NICKOS KARVOUNIS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The Foreign Office has also updated its Greece travel advice due to the extreme weather, warning Brits: "Adverse weather conditions, including floods, are affecting some regions. The situation can change quickly. Follow 112 Greece on Twitter for official updates."
It comes after the European heatwaves that hit Greece, causing wildfires on the island of Rhodes as well as regions near Athens.
Jet2 is cancelling all flights and holidays (Bloomberg via Getty Images)The Foreign Office further warns: "Very high temperatures are affecting many areas of Greece. There are active wildfires across Greece, including in populated areas on the mainland and a number of islands. Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable. The situation can change quickly."
The ferocity of Storm Daniel has led to streets on the Greek island of Skiathos turning into rivers, washing cars away and forcing residents and visitors alike to shelter indoors. Flights to the UK have also been cancelled, leaving hundreds of Brits stranded as planes at Skiathos Airport have been grounded.
Some Brits have even been left with no choice but to sleep on airport luggage carousels while taking shelter.
(HATZIPOLITIS NICOLAOS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In its statement, Jet2 explained: "We are continuing to closely monitor the weather conditions that have been affecting Skiathos.
"Due to these extraordinary circumstances, and with our customers’ best interests in mind, we have taken the decision to cancel all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Skiathos up to and including Tuesday 12th September.
"As well as providing certainty for our customers, we believe that this is the right thing to do in terms of allowing the island and its population to quickly return to normal following this week’s events.
"We will be contacting affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options. We plan to fly our scheduled programme of aircraft to Skiathos with no customers onboard, so that we can bring customers back to the UK. We will review this flying programme closely and may put on additional aircraft to fly customers home if required.
"This announcement comes in addition to the cancellations to Skiathos that we have already made this week (six flights operating between Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th September). We will fly all customers affected by these cancellations back to the UK too, and we will communicate directly with them to let them know.
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"We are continuing to closely monitor the situation on the island and have been in touch with customers in resort to advise them of the situation, and to ask them to follow the advice of the local authorities as well as their hoteliers. In addition, our in-resort teams are working tirelessly to visit and look after customers despite infrastructure challenges caused by the weather.
"We recognise that this is an extremely difficult and unpleasant experience for our customers, and we of course are extremely sorry to hear this. Although extraordinary events such as these are completely outside of our control, our absolute focus is on doing everything we can to look after everyone."