Santorini earthquakes: What are my holiday rights, and can I cancel my flights?

Here’s what holidaymakers planning to visit the region need to know.

What is happening on Santorini?

There are fears, following hundreds of tremors in recent days, that a larger earthquake may follow, affecting Santorini and nearby islands Amorgos, Anafi and Ios.

According to Reuters, about 10,000 people have left on ferries and planes in recent days following quakes “shaking buildings, kicking up dust on the island’s rocky cliffs, and raising fears of a major earthquake”.

Construction has been halted and schools shuttered, with residents and hotels ordered to empty their pools.

Is the airport open?

Yes, at the time of publication, but this is a quiet time of the year for tourism.

There are unlikely to be many Irish people on the island, and direct flights don’t begin taking off from Dublin Airport until the end of March, in Ryanair’s case, and from May 3 with Aer Lingus.

Some extra flights to Athens have been laid on by Aegean Airlines and Sky Express.

What is the advice for people on the island?

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs notes the seismic activity on its travel advisory page for Greece.

It says the areas of Santorini (Thira) and Amorgos are currently experiencing a significant volume of earthquakes, and that authorities have issued advice to:

• Avoid large gatherings inside buildings
• Avoid approaching abandoned buildings
• Avoid accessing and staying in the ports of Ammoudi, Armeni, Korfos and the Old Port of Fira
• Choose safe routes when moving around the road network, especially at points where there are steep slopes and landslides are likely to occur

Information and instructions on staying safe during an earthquake are available on the website of the Greek Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, or in an emergency, call 112.

Is there advice against travel to Santorini?

Not for now.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs advises Irish citizens travelling to Greece to exercise ‘Normal Precautions’, which means standard insurance policies should continue to cover travellers.

However, if this advice is escalated to ‘Avoid Non-Essential Travel’ or ‘Do Not Travel’, most policies will be invalidated.

I have a holiday booked in Santorini. What are my options?

There aren’t many. If your holiday is weeks or months away, you can wait and see what develops.

You may wish to proactively rebook or cancel, but your travel insurance is unlikely to cover the cost, and you may need to pay cancellation or rescheduling fees with airlines and tour operators – but you can certainly call your travel agent to discuss options.

You can’t cancel a trip and get a refund simply because you are worried or don’t want to go – that’s deemed a “disinclination to travel” and is not covered by travel insurance.

If there is a worsening situation however, or if travel warnings are stepped up and your holiday can’t go ahead, then rights to refunds or changes should kick in.