Storm Daniel: Travel chaos in Greece as flights are cancelled and cars ordered off the road

A number of flights to and from the Greek island of Skiathos have been cancelled leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded.

Storm Daniel has been battering western and central Greece since 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.

The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has 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.

Torrential downpours saw streets in Skiathos turn to rivers and cars washed away as local people and tourists were forced to remain inside.  

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 subsides. On Wednesday authorities issued traffic warnings for the cities of Trikala and Kardista as the storm was not expected to weaken before Thursday. 

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.

A notice on Skiathos airport website warns of variations in flight arrivals and departures due to “extraordinary weather phenomena”.

But tourist reports paint a more 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.

Horrendous scenes. We’re currently in the airport, been locked in for over 12hrs and no flights out until Thursday. It’s surreal