Rhodes wildfires: Northern Ireland woman hires car to return to hotel she'd been evacuated from to reclaim luggage and get shower

Nicola Kayes, who was told to pack an emergency bag and leave the hotel not long after she’d arrived along with her partner, his son and his son’s friend, had been sleeping on chairs in an overcrowded hotel since Saturday.

Since returning to their original hotel, which narrowly escaped the path of a wildfire which is making its way across the island, they’ve been in a better position to make the most of their disrupted holiday booked with Jet2.

Nicola, who had spoken to the News Letter on Sunday, gave an update on their situation: “We heard the roads had reopened near our hotel.

“We hadn’t spoken to any Jet2 reps, none came to our hotel, so we rented a car and drove there ourselves.

“We managed to get our luggage and have a shower, but we couldn’t stay due to there still being smoke in the area.

“The fire got close to the hotel, it was only a road that separated the two.”

Nicola, who is from Carryduff, was one of thousands of holidaymakers who have had to evacuate parts of the Greek island due to quickly spreading wildfires during heatwave conditions.

She is on holiday with her partner Darren from Manchester, his 12-year-old son Jacob and his son’s friend, Harper, also 12.

Having been evacuated from their hotel 14 hours after they arrived, they were taken by coach to a basketball arena in Faliraki before being moved to a hotel in Rhodes town.

They remain in the hotel while they await news of a flight home.

Nicola said: “We are back in the hotel we’ve been at since Saturday, but we managed to get some camp beds. Jet2 were trying to source alternative accommodation but we’ve not heard anything yet.”

She said they were hoping to get home on one of Jet2’s repatriation flights last night.

She said: “It’s been an endurance test but we are doing what we can for the boys. Getting our stuff meant they could get into the pool for a bit. We took them to an arcade as well. It’s just the sleeping arrangements that have been a big issue – I reckon we only get a couple hours a night.”

Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays due to depart to Rhodes up to and including Sunday, July 30 “to give customers assurance and to avoid putting further pressure on the island’s infrastructure”.

The company said: “We have contacted affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options and if they wish to receive a refund, we will process this quickly.

“We will still fly those aircraft to Rhodes, but with no customers onboard, so that we can continue to bring our customers back to the UK on their scheduled flights, as well as any additional Jet2 customers who wish to return to the UK.”

In response to claims from customers that they have been left in the dark, Jet2 said: “We understand how difficult this experience has been for many, and our entire focus is on looking after our customers.

“We have a significantly expanded presence in Rhodes, with a huge team of experienced colleagues providing all the support we can for our customers, whether that is in affected areas or at Rhodes Airport.

“We have also put on three repatriation flights to bring our customers home, which is on top of our scheduled programme of flights that will continue to operate from Rhodes to the UK this week.

“We are continuing to make decisions in the best interests of our customers, and we are keeping everything under constant review.”

Meanwhile, Limavady man Warren Edwards, who is on holiday with wife Sarah, told Radio Ulster’s ‘Good Morning Ulster’ programme he feels for the locals: “Of course it's tough for us, but much tougher for the people of Rhodes itself."

Warren talked of the people who had walked a long way to seek refuge in their hotel: “One guy came here with his wife and two young daughters, no more than four. He had no shoes, just his swimwear, his wife only had a bikini, and they had the pushchair, their two daughters, no food, no water.

“They'd walked for four hours through the beach.

“Some people had to leave their bags on the beach, they'd carried them for as long as they could.”