News: more Border Force strikes planned, cost of passports increasing next week

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• Colin MacKinnon says:

  3 Apr3 April 08:36

  We did the £990 UK-DXB deal during one of the Covid breaks – open jaw LHR-ZRH-DBX, return DBX-FRA-EDI after Swiss cancelled via ZRH to EDI.

  Swiss was great, Lufthansa 747 cr@p. Not just the cabin, but also the crew and food.

• Ben says:

  3 Apr3 April 08:46

  And the front of the new passports rub off after a few trips. How can that be possible? Made cheaply by the French in Poland, I believe.

  • Rhys says:

    3 Apr3 April 08:57

    The old ones were the same. My old passport was unrecognisable!

    • Gordon says:

      3 Apr3 April 09:01

      That’s a common occurrence with Jet-setters Rhys!

    • ADS says:

      3 Apr3 April 12:02

      I have my granny’s 100 year old passport – crest still looks fine !

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        3 Apr3 April 13:15

        I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Granny ADS did a bit less international travel in the decade prior to 1924 than Rhys does now…

        • ADS says:

          4 Apr4 April 16:08

          granny ADS was very much a child of Empire … so whilst not in Rhys’ league (few are) … she was very very well travelled !

  • Gordon says:

    3 Apr3 April 08:58

    Yes, was previously printed by the British company De La Rue until the Franco-Dutch company Gemalto were awarded the contract in 2018!

  • Alex Sm says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:37

    I keep mine in a clear plastic bag which is freely available at security checkpoints. You can get a perfectly fitted one from some European airports (not the UK though, what an irony!) 🛂

  • David says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:21

    It’s called taking back control 🙄

  • Paul says:

    3 Apr3 April 22:11

    This is true but with this gov it will have been the cheapest possible product with maximum kick back for a crony or about to unemployed minister. Then again many of them have escape clause passports from other EU nations

• NorthernLass says:

  3 Apr3 April 08:54

  Meanwhile, the cost of a Spanish passport is 30 euros!

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:12

    HMPO operates on a full cost recovery model with no support from general taxation.

    Do the Spanish operate the same model or does their passport office also receive government funding?

    • NorthernLass says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:50

      I have no idea, but actually wouldn’t be surprised if they have some sort of EU subsidy shenanigans going on …

  • RussellH says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:33

    and a Swiss passport is CHF149

    • Gordon says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:40

      £40 dearer than the uk! Does the Swiss passport have the same validity period as a uk one!

• Steve says:

  3 Apr3 April 08:55

  Will be interesting to see if these deals push BA to review/reduce their current DXB pricing.

  Eyewatering what they are charging for business at present, albeit I acknowledge that someone must be paying these to keep them at that level.

• Alex Sm says:

  3 Apr3 April 09:35

  «Damp squib» is definitely the HfP’s favourite weird expression by a wide margin! 🦑

  • Peter K says:

    3 Apr3 April 09:46

    It’s a very normal expression in the UK, and has nothing to do with the underwater animal you have put an emoji of.

    • NorthernLass says:

      3 Apr3 April 10:48

      Lol, a squib is a kind of firework, so if it’s damp it doesn’t go off, thereby causing disappointment. A damp squid, on the other hand, would presumably be quite happy!

      • Gordon says:

        3 Apr3 April 10:59

        Haha, I could not have put that better myself.

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        3 Apr3 April 13:45

        I once dampened a squid and some of its mates in a warm bath of melted butter and a splosh of white wine.

        Cheered me up no end!

  • dannyc says:

    3 Apr3 April 14:51

    Watching IT Crowd when I was still learning English taught me about damp squib / squid 😂

• TimM says:

  3 Apr3 April 09:54

  Increased passport costs are just another form of taxation, like higher prescription charges, postage stamp prices, rail & bus fares, water charges etc. etc. etc. .

  My passport is not set to expire until May next year so not worth renewing now. But the 3 to 6 months rule for entry into most countries and the new lack of rollover of unexpired time is just another form of taxation.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:00

    The credit for unused time ended in around 2018.

    The UK was one of the few countries in the world that added such extensions on a routine basis.

  • Ken says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:51

    Just another benefit of Brexit more like…

    Is food price inflation another form of taxation?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    3 Apr3 April 11:41

    How is it taxation? The entry rules are governed by the country you’re entering not the one your passport is issued by.

    EU countries won’t let you have a more than 10 year old passport and countries want you to have 3 or 6 months validity it’s not the UK’s fault.

    • dannyc says:

      3 Apr3 April 14:52

      As I understand it’s only the EU that dislikes 10 year+ passports

      • TGLoyalty says:

        3 Apr3 April 19:13

        Yep ECC countries aren’t included in that either. But doesn’t stop being denied boarding by an over zealous check in agent cause they think the rule for EU applied globally.

• Kraut says:

  3 Apr3 April 09:55

  Surely noone would voluntarily fly Lufthansa over Swiss in Business Class….

  • Deek says:

    3 Apr3 April 11:14

    Only for the upper deck 747 experience, otherwise no. Yet the route I fly has LH consistently costing 50% more than LX, go figure?!

• John says:

  3 Apr3 April 10:39

  When the army was doing immigration during previous strikes it ran much more smoothly than normal. But I’m told they hated doing it

  • Ken says:

    3 Apr3 April 10:52

    Not surprised, people sign up to see the world, get trained to fight and maybe get a trade.

    Not to be scab labour.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    3 Apr3 April 11:06

    They did hate it.

    And as I wrote above the Home Office staffed every desk with cheap military labour whereas they aren’t prepared to do the same with properly trained but more expendive border force officers.

  • Rob says:

    3 Apr3 April 14:46

    As per the article, they waved everyone through with no real checks.

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