If you’re a regular on the UK holiday scene then you may well be feeling rather smug today at the news that a backlog at the passport office is causing huge problems for those hoping to holiday abroad this year. It’s estimated that the backlog will cost around half a million people their holidays, bringing summer misery!
Right now, new applications at the passport office are taking around 10 weeks to process, and that’s simply too long for some awaiting passports to travel abroad this summer. It may mean we see a British holiday boom as some holidaymakers reconsider foreign breaks for a trip closer to home.
Unions are claiming that passport officials only acted on the backlog when it reached 350,000, an amount it says it unacceptable, and we’re sure many holidaymakers will agree. The unions are now threatening industrial action over the fact that ‘poorly paid staff are being forced to paper over the cracks by working overtime’, and of course any strike is only likely to add to the backlog and the frustration felt by holidaymakers awaiting travel documents.
If you’ve already booked your break then it’s very likely that you won’t receive your passport in time, and as more people chase up documents, the backlog simply grows further. If you haven’t already booked a foreign break and you’re reliant on a new passport it may well be time to reconsider and think about alternatives, as mentioned this really could be a boom for British Holidays and with many parks now offering much more than static caravans, a break in the UK has never looked so appealing. While traditional caravan holidays are still available, British holidaymakers can now also look at many chalets, log cabins and even yurts at holiday parks around the UK.
With many already missing their foreign holidays and even reports of British nationals stuck abroad with new born babies who are awaiting passports, it’s really not a good time to be relying on needing travel documents. If you haven’t booked a holiday yet, it could be a good time to look at the UK special offers available through June and July and into the school summer holidays too.
By: Kath Cross
