A MUM of four has been left “in tears” over fears she will have to cancel her dream family holiday.
Lauren Connors, who is mum to four kids between 10 and 16, three of which have additional needs, said she is still waiting for their new passports weeks after sending them.
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Having booked their holiday to Dubai two years ago, which was constantly changed due to Covid, she applied for three new passports for her kids in early September, thinking that would be enough time for their holiday in 10 days.
However, after waiting more than a month, she realised that the Passport Office warning was up to 10 weeks – meaning she is unlikely to get them back in time.
She told MyLondon: “I would have done the fast track, I wouldn’t even have questioned the financial side of it.
“But my husband had done his passport earlier in the summer – he sent it out on the Thursday and had it the following Thursday.”
Despite spending six hours on the phone with the Passport Office, she was only told to “keep her fingers and toes crossed” that they would arrive in time.
She is now terrified she will have to cancel her holiday, and feeling like she has “let down” her kids.
She said: “I just feel a bit rubbish as a mum. You know that feeling that I’m letting them down, more than anything, when they sit there going, ‘Oh I’m looking forward to doing this on holiday’.”
“My eldest turns 16 when we are there, and we have plans for her to skydive.”
“[And] my son is desperately wanting to go to the Lazy River at the Atlantis Waterpark, and has watched various YouTube videos.
“Money aside, I’m more concerned about my children, on a holiday that is very much needed all round.”
She explained the additional difficulties she faced, travelling with kids with extra needs, adding: “When we go away, there’s quite a bit of prep we have to do with regards to getting the special services at the airport to ensure that we have a quick check in, and don’t hang around in security because of anxieties and people.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Since the start of the pandemic, over 5 million have delayed their passport application.
“In anticipation of this additional demand, we have been advising people since April to allow up to 10 weeks to get their passport.”
Earlier this year, traveller Claire Mochar was forced to cancel her holiday after she applied for a new passport on July 16, but hadn’t even been processed after three weeks.
Last summer, a backlog of 400,000 passports was reported, after more than a million passports expired during the lockdown.
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