Three aircraft are expected to arrive on the island of Skiathos to collect the first 550-600 British tourists and transport them back to the United Kingdom.

The planes are scheduled to land at the Alexandros Papadiamantis airport tomorrow, Wednesday, according to the head of Skiathos FRAPORT. After Monday morning, two British Embassy diplomats arrived in Skiathos to oversee the situation and coordinate the necessary moves following the collapse of the tourist mega-agency, Thomas Cook.

Subsequent flights are expected to take place on Friday with four more British aircraft transporting another 750-800 English tourists and another two or three airplanes on Sunday to fly a further 500 people to UK airports.

Skiathos hoteliers, who are still hosting Thomas Cook’s customers, say that although they could limit their losses, they are still deeply troubled about packages they had signed with the company for the 2020 tourist season.

They estimate the island will be hit with over 80,000 airline cancellations, which will largely affect hotel occupancy and Skiathos’s local economy.