‘Meltdown’ at UK passport renewals forces travellers to cancel Easter breaks
Travellers are being forced to cancel Easter travel bookings because of a backlog at HM Passport Office which is delaying renewals.
Some passengers have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket because their new passports failed to arrive before their departure date.
The Passport Office is currently advising travellers to allow up to 10 weeks for applications to be processed, up from an average turnaround time of three weeks before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, service failings with the government’s official courier, TNT, mean some applicants are waiting weeks for delivery after their passport has been issued.
Frustrated holidaymakers have complained of a system in meltdown with uncontactable customer services, processing errors and a lack of appointments for the premium-price fast-track service.
Linda Hill had to cancel a holiday in France with her newly bereaved father after a replacement for her damaged passport failed to arrive in time.
She had paid £142 for the fast-track service which requires applicants to submit their paperwork during a face-to-face appointment and promises delivery within a week.
“There were no available appointments anywhere close, so I had to make a six-hour round trip from Sussex to Peterborough,” she said.
Both the Passport Office and TNT told Hill that the passport would be delivered on day-eight but it didn’t show up.
“The fiasco has cost me £500 because of the lost holiday, but worse was the immense stress caused to my family because the trip was to comfort my father after my mother died last month,” she said.
Others claim that their applications were delayed or even terminated because the Passport Office failed to log supporting documents.
One mother told the Guardian that she had sent her daughter’s
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