A firefighting helicopter flies through smoke as people look on in Mandra, west of the Greek capital Athens, last week. Photo / Petros Giannakouris; AP

Southern Europe in summer is a popular holiday destination for New Zealanders. However, an historic heatwave is making some travellers rethink their plans.

Last week Italy put emergency measures in place to treat tourists and shut some outdoor attractions, after the heatwave ‘Cerberus’ pushed temperatures over 40 degrees and sparked bush fires across the region. Parts of Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Portugal, Spain and North Africa have also been battling blazes, with firefighting planes seen from the popular tourist region of Dubrovnik.

On Sunday wildfires on the Greek Island of Rhodes saw the emergency evacuation of 19,000 tourists from the southeastern Aegean Sea.

Despite this there remain several conflicting pieces of advice about whether travel to southern Europe is a good idea.

While airlines were cutting flights from Corfu and Rhodes, local travel advice continues to insist travel is safe, with tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni insisting fires continue to affect only a small part of the islands.

New Zealand’s SafeTravel advisories, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, continues to be low risk for much of the Mediterranean. However, the Ministry says that it has reached out to travellers registered as visiting areas affected by the heatwave.

“We have advised New Zealanders registered with us for travel in Greece and Italy to follow the advice of local authorities at all times, including any evacuation orders,” an Ministry spokesperson told the Herald.

This comes as yesterday an EasyJet pilot was recorded telling holidaymakers to rethink their travel.

“I don’t know in what capacity you are travelling, but if you are travelling for leisure, my sincere recommendation is it’s a bad idea,” they told passengers aboard the flight from London Gatwick to Rhodes.

BBC reporter Gwyn Loader, who was on the flight, said around eight travellers chose to follow the pilot’s advice and disembark.

According to the Loader, the flight was already flying light, with only 37 passengers aboard flight U28231 to RHO.

So, whose advice should you follow, if you have travel planned to the region? And should you rethink your holiday to Europe?

Will my travel insurance cover me if I decide not to go?

Few policies will cover no-fault cancellations if you decide not to go. While the weather may be unbearably hot, most travel insurers only cover travel in the case of cancellation or sickness of one of the travel party. Some airfares offer some flexibility for travel, and it is possible that accommodation may allow you to move bookings.

However if you choose not to travel, your insurer will not cover your losses.

The only exception to this could be if the local government advises against travel, or New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) updates its travel advisory not to travel.

Some policies would cover cancellation in this instance. Although others may define heat waves or local weather events as a ‘force majeure’ and uninsurable. As ever, check the policy fine print before changing your plans.

MFAT’s Safe Travel advice is to take normal travel precautions

Despite issuing a travel warning for Greece regarding the heatwave on Sunday, New Zealand’s SafeTravel advisory continues to say “exercise normal safety and security precautions.” Greece continues to hold a level 1 of 4, the lowest rating, with Italy placed at 2, “exercise increased caution”.

On Sunday MFAT issued an update saying it was aware of localised fire warnings in Western Attica, Laconia and the island of Rhodes.

“Greece is currently experiencing very high temperatures, with severe fire warnings in place across the country,” said the update, warning that fires can start and spread quickly with little warning.

The official advice was to follow local advice and follow the guidance of “accommodation management and/or tour operators. This included being prepared to follow “evacuation orders”.

An MFAT spokesperson said they are providing additional information for countries affected by the extreme heat events, via their website safetravel.govt.nz.

New Zealanders travelling to southern Europe are advised to register travel plans, using the SafeTravel webite, to receive the latest travel advice and to “account for their safety and well-being in an emergency.”

What if there’s a medical reason to not travel?

Areas of the Med including Italy have been issuing health warnings around the recent heatwaves.

You may have an existing medical condition or doctor’s advice against travel to the heat-affected areas. This changes things. Providing you told your insurer about existing health conditions when buying an insurance policy, this would give grounds for an insurer to pay out if you chose not to travel. It’s the reason you had to pay a higher premium.

For example MFAT currently advises that “air quality may deteriorate due to heavy smoke” in fire-affected parts of Western Attica. If a traveller had difficulties breathing from a condition declared when the travel policy was bought, this would give them grounds to make a claim for cancelling their trip. Of course, the travel would have to be booked before the traveller knew about the excessive heat or fires.

If you fell ill while travelling, due to the heatwave, medical care should still be covered as per your travel policy.

My hotel is on fire. Do I still have to go?

This changes things. If you’ve booked a package holiday or through a tour operator and they can no longer provide you with the accommodation or services promised, they are required to provide an alternative or the opportunity to cancel and be refunded.

If you’ve done your own thing and booked independently may not be covered by their insurer. Some - more expensive - policies will make provisions for booking emergency or replacement accommodation in this event. Similarly if local travel restrictions stop you from accessing your booked accommodation, some policies will provide cover for an alternative hotel. This depends largely on your insurer and the policy you bought prior to travel.