“Our advice to travellers, should they need passports or to renew existing ones, is to action these as soon as possible to minimise any disruption to their travel plans. We urge the Government and the unions to find a way of dealing with this dispute urgently to ensure that it doesn’t affect British travellers and impact the outbound travel industry.”
When should I renew my passport?
Due to potential delays, holidaymakers should apply for a new passport as soon as possible but only if their document is expiring in the next few months. If their passport is already expired, travellers should not book any holiday, flight or accommodation yet.
Travel expert Simon Calder advised: “The Home Office tells me that they are putting contingencies in place and that the 10-week rule still applies. They will say ‘Don’t book any travel arrangements until you’ve got your passport in your hand’.”
He also warned against applying for a new passport if the document “doesn’t expire until the end of the year” as it could trigger “a surge in applications” and “a queue for people who really need it”.
