Getting off the ground
Page 32
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It has some times been my sad duty to take State-owned giants to task about the service they offer to their shareholders — you and me. So it's nice to be able to offer a pat on the back for a change. A colleague arrived at London Airport to fly off on one of those all work and no play (or so he maintains) trips to the sun, when he discovered that his passport had expired on the previous day.
He thought he could say goodbye to the trip — but not so. The passport control officer who spotted the expiry closed his desk — to the chagrin of the large queue — took my colleague by the arm and set off to find a British Airways supervisor. The latter gentleman suggested contacting the Employment Department office in nearby Hounslow but a phone call there revealed that only the Post Office now handles these jobs. Noticing London Airport's own post office, my colleague found a most helpful counter clerk who said he could indeed renew the passport on the spot if he filled in the form and provided a set of photographs.
Stymied? No; a quick trip to the Roof Garden — where the gate attendant Waived the entry fee in view of the situation — revealed an automatic machine which quickly ran off some prints. Back at the post office the man closed his section, took my colleague into the back to help with the form fitting and the result was a renewed passport in just half an hour for E2.10.
Moral: keep your passport up to date; but if you don't it seems you can rely on the State-salaried officials to see that you don't miss the flight.