Holidaymakers hit out at Glasgow Passport Office delays

One pensioner was forced to abandon her holiday the day before her flight after her passport never arrived.

Jane Shreenan, from Cambuslang, waited 11 weeks and three days for her documents which meant she had to miss out on a trip to Benidorm with friends.

The 79-year-old was left “heartbroken” after queueing for hours outside the Glasgow Passport Office in a desperate bid to plead her case and get the green light but was turned away empty-handed.

She explained her flight was the very next day, on May 5, but was “disgusted” when she was told her application was in Liverpool and there was nothing that could be done.

Glasgow Passport Office

Now her family have accused the passport office of using a “lottery system” with waiting times taking over 10 weeks for some but just days for others.

It comes after “chaos” has left people experiencing phone hotline waits of up to nine hours, making 40 calls and also missing key family events, MPs have warned.

The Home Office has faced demands to reveal when the backlog will be cleared and to offer compensation to people who do not have their passport applications sorted within 10 weeks.

Home Office minister, Tom Pursglove, said the 10-week target is “not guaranteed” but insisted 700 extra staff will have been recruited “by the summer” to help.

Angela and mum Jane

Jane told the Glasgow Times: “I was disgusted with them when they turned me away from the Passport Office, I felt very let down.

“I saved all year to go on holiday and I lost all the money when I couldn’t get my passport.

“My friends went without me. I know I am not the only person this happened to as thousands of people are going through it, but it is terrible.

“They are charging people all sorts of money now because they need to upgrade which I think is an absolute disgrace.

“The staff at the Glasgow office were not helpful towards me at all.”

Jane’s daughter Angela Burns, who had applied for her mother’s passport for her, now fears the passport delays have turned into a “cash cow” for the UK Government.

The 56-year-old, from Cambuslang, said: “My mum wanted a holiday in the sun but instead lost every single penny for her flight, passport, and insurance.

“She had to tell her friends the day before that she couldn't go with them. She was heartbroken.

“We went to the passport office the day before to plead her case but they just turned her away.

“I know people who have been waiting 15 weeks and I know people who have gotten them 10 days later, it is a lottery.

“People just need to pay to upgrade. Now it is turning into a cash cow for the Government if you want to get anywhere you need to pay fast-track.

“As it got closer to her holiday I started to email, phone, and complain but you would never hear back from them.”

Cheryl with son Nathan

NHS hero Cheryl Cairney has also been burdened with passport stress after cancelling a trip to Berlin with her mother, before her 11-year-old son’s passport was also hit with major delays.

The mum sent away two passports, for herself and Nathan, in the same envelope to be renewed for their family holiday to Majorca in Spain.

She was left frustrated when the passports were split up meaning hers came back in time while her son’s was sent to Liverpool which had a longer processing wait time.

This meant the 44-year-old, from Bishopbriggs, was forced to take time off work at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary to queue up outside the Glasgow Passport Office for hours to secure her documents.

She said: “I work for the NHS at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and I had to take time off to queue up for three and a half hours.

“The problem is you cannot get a hold of anyone at the passport office and when you do it is just people going through a script with no more information than what we can see online.

“I had already lost out on a holiday with my mum to Berlin last month. I had to cancel because my passport wasn’t ready.

“They emailed me to say I could come back within 48 hours but we took the decision to cancel it as that was too short notice, we would have lost a lot of money.

“I’m glad I went to the passport office and spoke to someone face-to-face to sort my son’s passport out.

“It had been 12 weeks, and if I hadn’t gone in I would still be waiting.

“They are not dealing with people, they are just letting them upgrade and pay more.”

The Passport Office has been flooded with applications

Susan Evans also struggled with securing a passport for her daughter to join their family trip to Mexico.

She claims she majorly struggled with getting in contact with staff at the passport office and was left extremely overwhelmed with stress over the process.

She said: “It is utter shambles. I have met so many folk with horror stories.

“Her Majesty's Passport Office should be ashamed.

“I wasted numerous hours phoning and emailing any account I could get hold of.

“I also made three formal complaints and emailed my MP but she said when she spoke to them they could only guarantee I would get a passport 48 hours before.

“I went to Glasgow Passport Office with six days to go and waited for three hours and got turned away.

“I was told to come back with 24 to 48 hours to go. It was so stressful.

"We finally got approved on Monday and picked up the passport two days before we flew to Mexico on Friday.”

The Government expects 9.5 million British passport applications to be dealt with in 2022, with Covid restrictions on travel resulting in just four million applications in 2020 and five million in 2021 by comparison.

A HM Passport Office spokesperson said: “Staff are processing approximately 250,000 passport applications each week and between March and May 98.5% of applications were completed within 10 weeks.

“But we cannot compromise security checks and people should apply with plenty of time prior to travelling.

“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 five million people delay their passport application due to the pandemic.

“Face-to-face passport services are only available by appointment.”