Holidaymakers have reportedly been “forced to abandon travel plans” after waiting more than two months for new passports to be delivered.
HM Passport Office said issues with its courier, TNT, had resulted in delays to returning documents in the post, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper said some travellers are waiting for up to 10 weeks for applications to be processed – it typically takes three weeks for a new adult passport to be issued and costs £75. A one-week fast-track option costs £177.
The Telegraph spoke to nurse Yazmin Andrews, who abandoned a £2,000 trip to Disneyland Paris with her husband and three young children because the passport renewals for which they applied in January have still not been processed.
Pierre Woussen applied in September from Vietnam, where he works in human resources, and told the newspaper the delay has had a massive impact on his family’s plans to return to Britain.
A marketing executive from London told the paper she faces losing £3,000 she has spent on flights and accommodation for a trip to Dubai.
She applied on February 1 and is due to travel on March 8 but her passport is yet to arrive.
A spokesman for the passport office told the Telegraph it was working with its supplier to resolve the problems as quickly as possible.
“TNT said it was experiencing ‘higher demand than expected at this time of year’ and that deliveries may take longer than usual, apologising for ‘any inconvenience caused’,” added the report.