{"id":1114515,"date":"2026-07-27T16:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1114515\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:55:18","slug":"are-london-flights-operating-to-wildfire-threatened-bordeaux-madrid-and-valencia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1114515\/","title":{"rendered":"Are London flights operating to wildfire-threatened Bordeaux, Madrid and Valencia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WEST<\/p>\n

France and Spain are facing a growing wildfire crisis which has forced hundreds of thousands to flee homes and tourist hotels. <\/p>\n

Wildfires<\/a> have wrought destruction, with 220,000 evacuated in south-west France and 116,000 in Spain. <\/p>\n

Popular holiday spots around Bordeaux<\/a> and Madrid<\/a> have been hit with fires, which have ravaged rapidly through grasslands. <\/p>\n

Officials are now weighing up a \u201ctotal evacuation\u201d of Bordeaux and the surrounding region of Gironde as President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government plans a crisis meeting later on Monday. <\/p>\n

Regional authorities are also warning tourists to stay away from Gironde despite previous assurances from French authorities not to cancel holidays. <\/p>\n

Local official Sophie Brocas said: \u201cWe urge tourists not to come to this region, at least until the situation is under control.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"<p>Some<\/p>\n

Some 220,000 people were evacuated due to the massive wildfire in France’s Gironde region <\/p>\n

AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n

The mayor of Bordeaux has warned they will remain \u201cvigilant\u201d and ready for the possibility of evacuation as firefighters look to contain the blaze. <\/p>\n

In Spain, fires have broken out near Madrid and Valencia<\/a>, with some 100,000 being forced to evacuate the areas. <\/p>\n

The Spanish government has declared a national emergency and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to visit Valencia on Monday as authorities look to find a solution amid worsening weather conditions. <\/p>\n

The UK has also seen a number of wildfires<\/a>, with as many as 19 breaking out simultaneously in England and Wales during the height of the third heatwave in mid-July. <\/p>\n

Local fire and rescue services are now said to be preparing for the elevated risk of wildfires in the UK, said a spokesperson for the National Fire Chiefs Council. <\/p>\n

The UK Foreign Office has issued a warning to holidaymakers, urging British tourists to follow the advice of local authorities, monitor local media, and check accommodation before travelling. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know about the situation in the wildfire-threatened regions in France and Spain, and how it could impact on travel: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There was some overnight reprieve in Madrid <\/p>\n

AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n

Wildfires in Bordeaux have already claimed the lives of two firefighters as forces battled to keep fires away from the city. <\/p>\n

The airport\u2019s hotel zone has been evacuated until further notice, but the airport itself remains operational. <\/p>\n

This means flights can continue to operate, but no accommodation is available within the airport vicinity. <\/p>\n

Travellers are being advised to seek accommodation outside of the evacuated areas. <\/p>\n

As it stands, flights out of London to Bordeaux are scheduled to go ahead. <\/p>\n

Though the city itself has not yet been engulfed by the blaze, the flames remain just 15km away. <\/p>\n

Some rain overnight has provided some reprieve for the southern French region, but temperatures of 36C are forecast for later this week. <\/p>\n

In the Madrid and \u00c1vila regions, fires have broken out in Burgohondo, San Martin de Valdeiglesias, and Almorox, but are understood to have eased overnight. <\/p>\n

Another eight municipalities near Toledo have also been ordered to evacuate. <\/p>\n

Flights to Madrid are operating as usual, with no cancellations as of Monday morning. <\/p>\n

However, reports of poor air quality in the region have been rife. Many have reported black smoke and the smell of burning in parts of the capital. <\/p>\n

The UK Foreign Office has advised Britons to avoid travelling to affected areas and to follow instructions from local authorities at all times. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the western Madrid region, two separate wildfires merged on July 24 into a massive blaze <\/p>\n

AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n

Another blaze has ravaged over 4,300 hectares in Valencia in the eastern Castellon province. <\/p>\n

Local authorities are still battling to tackle the blaze, which claimed the life of one man over the weekend. Some 15,000 have now been evacuated from their homes. <\/p>\n

As of Monday morning, flights to Valencia have not been cancelled. <\/p>\n

The UK Foreign Office has advised Britons to avoid travelling to affected areas and to follow instructions from local authorities at all times. <\/p>\n

What happens if my flight is cancelled? <\/p>\n

Without a change in advice from the Foreign Office or a cancellation by the airline, you won\u2019t be eligible for a refund. <\/p>\n

This is because the cancellation would be initiated by the passenger and would be considered a disinclination to travel. <\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019ve booked a package and the accommodation has been forced to closure, you are due a full refund. <\/p>\n

Am I covered by travel insurance? <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need to check closely to see if your insurance policy covers natural disasters, including floods and fires. <\/p>\n

If you still plan on travelling, it\u2019s worth checking your travel insurance carefully before you go. <\/p>\n

For those already in affected areas, you may be able to claim compensation or a refund if your holiday was cut short or your accommodation was forced to close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France and Spain are facing a growing wildfire crisis which has forced hundreds of thousands to flee homes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1114516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[63924,748,393,4884,2461,257,5479,16,15,16833,732],"class_list":["post-1114515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-bordeaux","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-heatwave","tag-london","tag-madrid","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-valencia","tag-wildfires"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116992995008487106","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1114516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}