A maid of honour fears she will miss her best friend's wedding after waiting 13 weeks to receive a new passport.
Danielle Williams-Smith, from Morecambe, had been queueing for a passport appointment outside the office on Old Hall Street in Liverpool city centre since it opened at 9am on Thursday, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The 37-year-old was due to be maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding this week but admitted she wouldn’t be able to travel if she couldn’t get a new passport in time - fearing the whole wedding would be cancelled.
Danielle said: “It’s just horrendous. The whole process has been so awful. The government hasn’t been prepared to deal with the problem.”
The waiting time for a new passport has risen from five to 10 weeks and the government's passport website crashed due to demand earlier this week.
Danielle has waited 13 weeks for her passport, with the huge backlog having an impact on travellers who are struggling to get their passport in time for their travels.
After standing in the queues at 9am, Danielle said she was not hopeful as the queue was at a standstill and no one had been given an update.
However, she praised the staff working and emphasised how kind and polite the security staff had been.
She said: “I really feel for the workers. They’re suffering because of the pandemic and because the government is unprepared.”
Due to rule changes after Brexit, passports must be less than 10 years old to travel to certain countries in the EU, with Holidaymakers needing three months left on their passport from the date of travel.
With the immense pressure on staff to clear the passport backlog, there are just seven seven passport customer service centres in the UK – in Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport and Peterborough – meaning that many are travelling hundreds of miles in the hope of an appointment.
With travellers left with few options, there is the fast-track service to get a new passport costing £142 for an adult and, with fuel costs, people are spending hundreds to be able to travel.
However, for many there is an increasing fear lots of travellers will miss out on holidays and key dates such as weddings due to expired passports this summer.
The government has urged people to renew their passports as soon as possible to avoid the delays.
