A FAMILY was forced to cancel their £1,800 holiday to the Canary Islands after they were stuck without one of their passports due to huge delays.
Scott Gavin had booked a holiday with his wife Leanne and his six kids as a Christmas present.
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However, he sent off five of their passports for renewal in November, hoping to get them back by January.
Only four arrived in time – and so they had to cancel their holiday.
He told 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 and in the end we had to cancel our holiday in January.
“It just all went to pot, it was an absolute nightmare.”
They then rebooked the trip to Majorca for Easter – only the passport has still not arrived.
He said it was “absolutely shocking” that he couldn’t get in touch with anyone over the lost passport.
He added: “We’ve missed out on a £1,800 holiday in January and had to pay for two passports for one kid when there’s proof we sent the initial details when they first asked. We thought booking in April would give them plenty of time.”
The government website states customers should allow up to 10 weeks to receive their passport after submitting their application.
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.
Gavin isn’t the only person to have to cancel their holiday due to delays getting their passport back in recent weeks.
One person wrote: “My daughter has missed her holiday despite the application going in on January 31. Also out of pocket.”
Another put: “I still haven’t had mine back after over 10 weeks! Due to fly in three weeks.”
Someone else wrote: “Renewed seven weeks ago was advised it would come in time. Hours on hold, no call backs.”
A fourth 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.”
Brits have even been banned from boarding flights due to confusing rules regarding passports.
Previously, Brits just needed to have a passport that was in date to be able to travel to countries across Europe, but new rules are now in place.
The government website confirms that Brits need to have 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 (check the ‘expiry date’)”.
However, airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair require six months – causing confusion.
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