NEW YORK - It's a summer of headaches for travellers in the United States: Airfares are surging, checked bags are disappearing, and flights are being cancelled in record numbers. And now there's another pain point to add to the mix. If you're in need of a new or updated passport, your options are limited - and it's likely going to cost you.
And even when an appointment can be found within the proper time frame, there's no guarantee it's in the same city or even the same state as the applicant, forcing those in need of travel documents to fly or drive several hours just to get their passport on time. The services of courier companies, often called passport expediters, were temporary halted in March 2020 as part of a wider pandemic shutdown. After coming back online last summer, the number of applications that each individual US Passport Agency now allows to be handled by a courier has been reduced. And with fewer slots available, prices have gone up in tandem.
"There's a lot of pressure from all parts. I think this is bipartisan," he said in a phone call."So many people are now applying for passports. It's like for two years the dam was up and now the dam is broken."Navigating the imbroglio She first reached out to a private passport expediter in her hometown, Austin, Texas, but after paying them more than $500 in hopes of getting the passports within a few days, she was surprised to be told that they expected the process to take five to seven weeks, and she'd have to deliver the paperwork to a passport office herself.