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ARCHIVED - Could UK passport office strikes affect your holiday to Spain?
More than 1,000 staff in Britain are striking between April 3 and May 5
The Public and Commercial union representing passport office workers across the UK has warned that the industrial action will have a “significant impact” on the processing of travel documents in the coming weeks.
More than 1,000 British employees in eight passport offices have begun a strike on Monday April 3 that will last for five weeks, until May 5, over ongoing pay, pension and working conditions disputes.
The industrial action has been strategically planned to commence at the beginning of Easter, one of the busiest weeks for foreign travel of the year, and will continue over two Bank Holiday weekends.
Hotels in Spain are booked solid for Semana Santa, with a huge proportion of visitors expected to arrive from the UK and with the summer season just around the corner, passport offices are expected to be busier than ever.
Passengers travelling from the UK to Spain will need to renew their passports before travel if they have expired, or if there is less than three months remaining from the day they plan to leave.
And while the British government has assured that processing shouldn’t be unduly delayed, Lisa Francesca Nand from The Big Travel Podcast believes the strike "probably will delay your passport if you need to renew it in the next few months".
On the other hand, a government spokesperson insisted that: "The Home Office will work hard to manage the impact of this strike action to ensure they can still provide the vital service to the British public as you would expect ahead of the summer."
Travel expert Simon Calder’s best advice is for people who plan on travelling abroad in the coming months to check their passport expiry dates now and plan ahead.
"But bear in mind the worst thing that could happen is that everyone panics and applies for their passport and that causes a bottleneck even before the strike has begun," he added.
The passport offices in Glasgow, Durham, Liverpool, Southport, Peterborough, London, Newport and Belfast are all participating in the work stoppages.
Image: Archive
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