Chaos at a British passport office saw people waiting outside in the rain on camping chairs this morning.
A video shows the queue at the Liverpool branch on Monday stretching along the city centre as the showers hit.
The line snaked along Old Hall Street from the corner of Brook Street, where the office is located, to the Radisson Blu Hotel.
Unhappy would-be travellers sheltered under umbrellas, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Anticipating a long wait, some had planned ahead and brought the fold-out furniture to take the weight off their feet as they moved towards the office at a snail's pace.
It comes after a number of problems with HM Passport Office and its sites across the UK in recent months.
Are you caught in queues outside your local passport office? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk
And at the same time as the queues in Liverpool, frustrated passengers were being left in the lurch at the likes of Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester airports as they waited to jet off for the half-term.
People have queued from the early hours of the morning to be seen by a member of staff at the Old Hall Street office.
It is one of just seven passport customer service centres in the UK.
Last week, mum-of-two Natalie Price revealed her four month battle to get a first passport for her son, slamming the process and saying she had "never experienced anything so difficult".
Likewise, a family from Kirkby, Merseyside, said their £3,000 holiday was in jeopardy as they were waiting in "limbo" for their baby's first passport.
HM Passport Office has warned people of delays in passport applications due to "unprecedented demand".
Its website states: "There is no backlog in passport processing as a result of the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic. However, we are now seeing unprecedented demand as more than five million people delayed applying for passports during COVID-19 because of restrictions in international travel.
"Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) anticipate 9.5million British passport applications will be made this year and in March 2022 alone, HMPO processed more than one million new passport applications, the highest output on record.
"In preparation for the demand for international travel returning, since April 2021 HMPO have been advising people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their British passport. This remains the case."
It comes as thousands across the UK faced travel chaos at airports as dozens of flights were cancelled due to staff shortages.
At Bristol Airport, holidaymakers reported queues which stretched outside of the terminal, while in Manchester Airport customers reported waiting for over five hours to get their luggage back after a flight.
The havoc comes as Brits have been flocking on holidays for the May half term holiday and the Jubilee weekend.
Bristol Airport had warned it anticipated around 300,000 travellers to pass through the airport, with up to 30,000 customers flying on some days.
However, staff shortages due to Covid have left airports and airlines struggling to cope with the demand from holidaymakers.
Other passengers attempting to return to the UK, found IT issues and staff shortages caused huge delays.
Brits waited for two hours outside Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport amid half term holiday chaos - with flights jetting off without passengers who were stuck in queues.
Queues stretched from outside the building through to security with the airport blaming ‘staff shortages’ for the delays.
Passengers said they waited for around two hours outside - and then spent up to a further hour in various lines inside the terminal.
EasyJet customers in the queue had already faced additional delays after their Saturday flights were cancelled due to "IT issues".
Passengers flying into Bristol said flights were forced to leave without all passengers on board - meaning further delays of around half an hour as hold baggage was unloaded.
“Being stuck at Schiphol airport was really anxiety inducing - it was complete chaos,” said one EasyJet customer.
“There was no order to the queue system - people were pushing in.
“I have an anxiety disorder which I felt like I had to mention to staff to try and cut through the line.
“People were behaving like animals."
Last week, Boris Johnson said passport waiting times had reduced dramatically.
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said the Government is "massively increasing the speed with which the Passport Office delivers".
He said, to the best of his knowledge, "everybody’s getting their passport within four to six weeks".
In response, Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport spokesperson, tweeted: “Did Boris Johnson really just claim that ‘everyone is getting their passport back within four to six weeks’?
"The Passport Office's own guidance won't allow MPs to even contact them on behalf of our constituents until 10 weeks have passed.”
