Holidaymakers are being forced to cancel their Easter trips because their passports were not renewed in time by the HM Passport Office.
The average turnaround time for passport renewals was three weeks before the pandemic, but has now gone up to 10 weeks.
Further delays have come from TNT, the government’s official courier, causing some people to wait weeks for delivery after their passport has been issued.
Disappointed travellers have complained of a breakdown in communication with customer services, processing errors and a lack of appointments for the premium-price fast-track service.
Linda Hill told The Guardian that she had to cancel a trip to France with her newly bereaved father after a replacement for her damaged passport did not arrive in time, despite paying £142 for the fast-track service which promises delivery within a week.
She said: “There were no available appointments anywhere close, so I had to make a six-hour round trip from Sussex to Peterborough.”
In spite of her efforts, the passport did not show up even though the Passport Office and TNT told Ms Hill it would arrive within eight days.
“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 claimed that their applications were delayed or terminated as the Passport Office did not properly log supporting documents.
Abi Tierney, director general of HM Passport Office said: “It is vital those who may need to apply for a new passport do so now. If you have delayed renewing your passport or are applying for the first time, please apply now so you can receive it in good time.
“Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to ensure that passport applications are processed as quickly as possible.”
Some people have reported waiting up to three months for their passport after it has been issued.
The US-owned company TNT blamed a huge rise in demand following the pandemic for their delays.
A TNT spokesperson told the Guardian: “We took a number of actions to restore service levels across our HM Passport Office network – including operational resources, extra team support and additional customer support resources – and we are currently operating within the service level requirements agreed with the Home Office.
“We apologise to any customer who has experienced a delay with their passport delivery and we will continue to work with HMPO to resolve individual cases.”
