Fierce storms unleashed life-threatening floods in Greece leading to travel disruption across the region earlier this week.
ADVERTISEMENTPolitical leaders and hotel owners on the Greek island of Skiathos have insisted that they are "ready to welcome visitors" after a massive clean-up effort following flash floods earlier this week.
Torrential downpours from Storm Daniel saw streets turn to rivers and cars washed away as local people and tourists alike were forced to remain inside.
"Things are looking much brighter today, and enormous efforts have been put into the clean-up process so far with huge progress already having been made with water and power fully restored, public transport up and running and roads fully accessible…we are operational," Mayor Thordoris Tzoumas said in an update on Thursday.
A number of flights to and from the Greek island were cancelled earlier this week leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded.
The travel chaos now appears to have calmed down but Jet2 has suspended flights to the island until next week saying it is "the right thing to do" to allow Skiathos to recover from the event.
What happened in Greece?
Storm Daniel arrived in western and central Greece on Monday, just days after a deadly wildfire that has burned for more than two weeks was brought under control in the north of the country.
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms flooded streets, homes and businesses. Some areas saw the same amount of rain in a day that London gets in an entire year.
Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, blamed both the wildfires and storms on climate change.
“I am afraid that the careless summers, as we knew them [...] will cease to exist and from now on the coming summers are likely to be ever more difficult,” he said on Tuesday.
Police ordered vehicles off the streets of three Greek regions: Volos, the nearby mountain region of Pilion and the island of Skiathos until the storm subsided. Then, on Wednesday authorities issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Kardista.
Alerts were also sent to people’s mobile phones in central Greece, the Sporades island chain and the island of Evia warning them to limit their movements outdoors due to the weather.
Are flights to and from Greece cancelled because of the storm?
Earlier this week, tourist reports painted a chaotic picture.
“Horrendous scenes. We’re currently in the airport. Been locked in for over 12 hours and no flights out until Thursday,” writes one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.
British travel company Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays to the Greek island of Skiathos until next week, after being forced to divert a flight from London Stansted to Thessaloniki on Monday.
A statement from Jet2 says: “Due to these extraordinary circumstances, and with our customer’s 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."
The airline has also made plans to rescue stranded tourists, flying a schedule of aircraft with no passengers on board to the Skiathos in order to bring people back to the UK.
"We will be contacting affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options," Jet2 added.
TUI also cancelled three flights on Tuesday and three on Wednesday. The travel company says that customers due to travel on these flights will be able to amend their holidays for free, rebook or receive a full refund if they no longer wish to travel.
ADVERTISEMENTSkiathos Airport’s arrivals and departures board currently lists no cancellations from other airlines, including Ryanair and TUI Airways.
Is it safe to travel to Greece during the storm?
Despite assurances from local politicians and business owners, updated travel advice for Greece from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) says: “Adverse weather conditions, including floods, are affecting some regions. The situation can change quickly.”
It advises travellers to follow 1112 Greece on Twitter for official updates.
The floods come as high temperatures continue to affect many areas of Greece.
“There are active wildfires across Greece, including in populated areas on the mainland and a number of islands,” the FCDO points out.
ADVERTISEMENT“Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable.”
