Passport renewal delays grounding holidaymakers across the UK as they miss pricey holidays

British would-be holidaymakers are fuming after passport renewal delays are causing many to miss their expensive getaways.

Scott Gavin told the Liverpool Echo he had booked a £1,800 holiday to Fuerteventura with his wife Leanne and his six kids as a Christmas present.

Sending off five passports for renewal in November, he hoped to get them back by January, the Sun reports on April 7.

But only four arrived in time and the distraught family was forced to cancel their holiday.

Scott told the Liverpool Echo that his son’s passport didn’t have his dad’s middle name which caused problems.

He said: “We tried to apply for a fast-tracked new passport but couldn’t because we didn’t get the old passport back so then had to apply via a lost passport.

“It just all went to pot, it was an absolute nightmare.”

The government website states customers should allow up to 10 weeks to receive their passport after submitting their application, the Sun reports.

It also says the typical processing times for standard online applications was between five and six weeks for the week ending March 20, 2022, although many have waited more than the 10 weeks.

Social media and online forums are full of angry people who have lost out on their paid-up holiday due to passport renewal delays.

One wrote: “My daughter has missed her holiday despite the application going in on January 31. Also out of pocket.”

Another anxious person said: “I still haven’t had mine back after over 10 weeks! Due to fly in three weeks.”

And others complained of massive difficulty contacting the passport call centre.

“Renewed seven weeks ago was advised it would come in time. Hours on hold, no call backs,” one wrote

Another person tweeted: “Applied with plenty of time – stated 5 weeks at time of application. Had 10 weeks to travel. Looks like £4k holiday will be wasted.”

New rules in place are adding to the difficulty, along with grounded planes due to staff with covid.

Previously, Brits just needed to have a passport that was in date to be able to travel to countries across Europe.

The government website states that Brits need to have at least three months left on their passport to be able to travel to an EU country, whichmust be “valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)”.

However, airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair require six months.

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