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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Sophie Buchan

Passport warning issued to holidaymakers as thousands turned away from airport

Holidays are being thrown into chaos with airlines such as British Airways and easyJet cancelling flights within hours of departure causing many to miss days of their holiday or having to miss it altogether.

As a result, people across the UK - including those flying from Glasgow Airport - are being told to turn up two hours early in order to ensure they get through security and onto the plane in time to avoid any potential delays.

In addition to this, passengers are now being issued a fresh warning with travellers being urged to check their passports.

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As reported by The Sun, travellers are being faced with long waiting times in getting their passports back as thousands scramble to renew theirs as covid restrictions ease across the travel sector.

At present the government website states it costs £75.50 to renew or replace a passport online - or £85 if you fill in a paper form. If you need to do this, customers should allow up to 10 weeks to receive their passport after submitting their application.

The warning comes as easyJet and British Airways (BA) are cancelling flights. (Getty 2022.)

It also says the typical processing times for standard online applications was between five and six weeks for the week ending March 20, 2022.

Despite the UK having officially left their EU, if your passport is burgundy or has ‘European Union’ on the cover, you can still use it as long as it’s valid for travel.

But whilst some may be in date, others are not with many taking to social media to state that they are out of pocket despite having submitted their applications months ago.

A spokesperson for Her Majesty's Passport Office said: "Due to Covid, over 5m people delayed applying for a British passport throughout 2020 and 2021.

"In preparation for the demand for international travel returning, since April 2021 we have published clear guidance that our customers should allow up to ten weeks to get their passport.

"In busier periods, call waiting times will take longer. However, we continue to work with our supplier to further recruit and support the effort to return response times closer to normal levels."

Today's warning according to the paper comes just 24 hours after another passport warning was made as Brits were banned from boarding flights due to confusing rules.

New rules were introduced after the UK left the EU regarding how many months are needed to be on the passport to be able to travel.

Previously, UK residents just needed to have a passport that was in date to be able to travel to countries across Europe however the government website now states that people need at least three months left on their passport to be able to travel to an EU country stating it must be "valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave."

But this isn't the standard for all airlines as Ryanair and easyJet - who are already caught up in flight cancellations - need six months.

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