Search icon

News

24th Jul 2018

Department of Foreign Affairs issues advice for Irish people travelling to Greece

Kate Demolder

The country’s capital is being ravaged by forest fires.

Travel advice has been issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs to those travelling from Ireland to Greece during a time when a series of raging wildfires have taken grasp of the country’s landscape.

At time of writing, at least 74 people have died and scores more injured around the Greek capital of Athens, according to local officials. The youngest of the victims is believed to be a six-month-old baby.

The causes of the fires are still unknown.

Those set to travel to Greece during this time are asked to check with their airline prior to travelling, to ensure that no changes have been made to their flights.

JOE spoke to Aer Lingus who ensured that guests will be notified, should flight plans change.

“We are monitoring the situation in Greece carefully with our ground operations team in the Athens region,” they said in a statement to JOE.

“Currently we plan to operate our full schedule of flights to Greece. We will update guests via our website, SMS messaging and our social media channels should the situation change.”

Ryanair also ensured that passengers needn’t fear.

“All our flights to/from Greece are currently operating as normal,” they said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, while not going into specifics of any case, has said it is providing consular assistance to a number of individuals in Greece at the present time.

They have posted a full report to their website for those travelling to Greece, warning visitors of a number of precautions that should be taken.

“Forest fires are a common occurrence during the summer season,” the statement reads.

“We recommend that visitors exercise vigilance if travelling in areas that are affected by fires, and follow the advice of the local authorities.”

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge