- Wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes are causing chaos for thousands of holidaymakers.
- An EasyJet pilot flying to Rhodes told tourists it was a bad idea, a BBC-affiliated report said.
An EasyJet pilot warned tourists flying to Rhodes, Greece on Monday that it was a "terrible idea" moments before taking off, according to a report by the BBC's Welsh-language news program Newyddion.
The pilot told the 37 passengers on board the flight heading from London Gatwick Airport to Rhodes that they would be allowed to disembark if they changed their minds, a journalist, who was on the flight, told Newyddion.
"Traveling to Rhodes at the moment is a terrible idea," the pilot said, according to the report. "In my opinion, this is the plane flying to provide an emergency service."
"Tours are now controlled by the military. If you want to get off the plane, feel free to do so," he added. "I don't know why you're traveling, but if you're traveling for recreational reasons, I suggest it's a bad idea."
A spokesperson for EasyJet told Insider in a statement: "As we understand that some customers traveling to the affected area may want to change their plans, we have put in place a flexible policy for customers traveling to Rhodes in the coming days with the option to change their flights for free to another date or request a flight voucher for the value of their unused flights if they no longer wish to travel."
Eight passengers disembarked the airplane, including a young boy who was in tears, the report said. The plane can carry 180 passengers in total. One passenger chose to get off because they found out their accommodation in Rhodes was no longer available, the spokesperson added.
The pilot's warning came as devastating wildfires raged on Rhodes and Corfu, prompting tens of thousands of tourists to be evacuated. Greek officials said that it is the largest evacuation effort in the country's history, CNN reported.
Hotels are being engulfed in flames while helicopters are dumping water to clear a way out through high flames. Many tourists have said they are now stuck on the island, looking for a way out.
Some major low-cost airlines, including Jet2 and Tui have canceled all their flights to Rhodes until July 28.
EasyJet, however, is still operating flights to the island, telling Reuters in a statement on Sunday: "We advise customers traveling to and from Rhodes to check the status of their flights on Flight Tracker."
In a later statement on Monday, the company said it is offering its customers two repatriation flights from Rhodes to London. It has canceled all of its package holidays to the island "up to and including Tuesday," the company added.
The UK Foreign Office said it has sent an emergency team to help stranded UK tourists, The Guardian reported.