Out of date passports are costing UK travellers an additional £14.1m per year through use of the Premium one-day passport service, new research has revealed.
The Freedom of Information request, submitted on behalf of Airport Parking and Hotels (APH), revealed that HM Passport Office received a huge 254,529 applications for its Premium one-day passport service in the past year.*
A Premium one-day passport costs an extra £55.50 on top of the standard adult passport renewal, bringing the total additional charge for disorganised travellers using this service to £14,126,359.50.
The most disorganised towns and cities, with the most emergency passport applications for their population size, are:
1. Redhill, Surrey - 14.5% of the population applied.
2. Llandundo, Wales - 7.8%
3. Tonbridge, Kent - 7.1%
4. Twickenham, Greater London - 6.5%
5. Romford, Greater London - 5.6%
6. Guildford, Surrey - 5.4%
7. Kilmarnock, Scotland - 3.3%
8. Southall, Greater London - 3.3%
9. Chester, Cheshire - 3.2%
10. Llandrindod Wells, Wales - 2.9%
1. Redhill, Surrey - 14.5% of the population applied.
2. Llandundo, Wales - 7.8%
3. Tonbridge, Kent - 7.1%
4. Twickenham, Greater London - 6.5%
5. Romford, Greater London - 5.6%
6. Guildford, Surrey - 5.4%
7. Kilmarnock, Scotland - 3.3%
8. Southall, Greater London - 3.3%
9. Chester, Cheshire - 3.2%
10. Llandrindod Wells, Wales - 2.9%
Beverley Barden, head of marketing at Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) said: “It’s shocking to see how much money is being wasted because of people being disorganised in not making sure their passports are kept up to date.
“With many countries requiring that visitors must have at least six months’ validity left on their passport, anyone that might have to visit those places at short notice should make sure theirs has enough time for them to be able to use it. “When booking holidays, it really should be a standard check for people to make sure their passports are valid.”
*The request covers the period between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016.
