London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

UK passport delays force families to cancel half-term trips

UK passport delays force families to cancel half-term trips

Processing times remain lengthy, despite ministers pledging 700 more staff to deal with backlog
Families are suffering a nailbiting, up-to-the wire wait this weekend as they face the prospect of having to cancel their half-term holiday plans as ongoing Passport Office delays put trips abroad at risk.

The summer half-term break starts on Monday for much of the UK but a backlog of passport applications has caused months of delays, with some people now set to miss their holiday bookings.

The Passport Office’s most recent advice is to allow 10 weeks to process forms because of a surge in applications after lockdown restrictions were lifted – but many people are still waiting for passports they ordered when the estimated processing period was much shorter.

Thomas Singlehurst, 44, from west London, applied on 8 April for new passports for sons Rex, 15, and Bron, 9, when the estimated processing time was five weeks.

Their half-term trip to France is now in jeopardy.

His younger son’s passport was sent within a month but his eldest son’s was only printed on Friday, with no chance of it arriving for their flight this weekend .

He said the Passport Office had been “impossible to get hold of”. “I would get the train up to Durham to pick it up but it is impossible to contact them,” he said.

“Before, it was 50:50 if you could go on holiday because of Covid tests. Now it’s because you might not have your passport.”

One company director applied for her daughter’s passport renewal on 24 March but now expects to miss the family’s flights to Italy’s Amalfi coast on Monday. The family, from Kent, have already had to abandon plans for the trip over the Easter break because of the passport delay. If they are forced to cancel for a second time, it will leave them, in total, £5,000 out of pocket.

“It beggars belief that they can operate like this,” said the woman, who is hoping to travel with her daughters, aged eight and nine..

“It is the not knowing that’s the most frustrating part of this. Obviously, I want to go on holiday but it is better to know if you’re not going to get a passport.

“This is the first holiday we have had since Covid – to add insult to injury – and it is just such a shame. It’s not fair to leave one daughter and take the other. The kids are incredibly disappointed but it is out of our hands.”

Keir Starmer highlighted the backlog issue at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, saying there are 500,000 passports waiting to be issued. “That’s potentially half a million people worrying whether they will get away this summer,” he told the House of Commons.

In response, Boris Johnson insisted that the government was “massively increasing the speed with which the Passport Office deliver”, saying “to the best of my knowledge” everyone is getting their passports within four to six weeks.

The Passport Office said that 5 million people delayed their applications due to the pandemic, leading to the delay of around 10 weeks. However, it said that passports are being received within six weeks in 90% of cases, and it is still in the process of hiring the 700 new staff members it pledged to recruit in April.

A Passport Office spokesperson said: “Since April 2021, we’ve clearly stated that people should allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their passport to factor in the increased demand, which has seen 5 million people delay their passport application due to the pandemic.

“The latest figures show that 90% were completed within six weeks. But we cannot compromise security checks, and people should apply with plenty of time prior to travelling.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×