'It's been incredibly frustrating': Would-be travellers face long line to renew passports in Victoria
Destiny Lewis was waiting, hoping, praying her passport would be finally ready as she stood in the line-up out the passport office in Victoria Friday, just days before her scheduled Hawaii getaway.
"I was told I'd have my passport in my mailbox by April 7,” said Lewis.
It never came, so she paid to get it expedited.
She took two days off of work and travelled to Victoria from the Comox Valley, with no guarantee the passport would even be here.
"It's going to be a pretty stressful situation if I have to start rebooking hotels, rebooking flights because my passport didn't come in on time,” said Lewis.
Hundred-person-long lines, like the one at the passport office in downtown Victoria, are what experts call the new travel normal.
Friday morning’s line-up reached around the top floor of the Bay Centre.
"This is my fifth attempt at trying to get my passport renewed,” said Kim Meadows, as she stood in the line-up.
"It's been incredibly frustrating and the line-ups have been insane.”
Travel experts say pent-up pandemic demand for international travel and a shortage of workers across the industry have spawned serious wait times, sector wide.
If you do get your hands on one of those last-minute passports, officials at the Victoria International Airport say plan ahead.
"There could be longer lines than usual going through security or check-in with your air carrier,” said Rod Hunchak, director of business development with the Victoria Airport Authority.
A staffing shortage throughout YYJ means it’s back to pre-pandemic waits.
"When you lay off 75 per cent of your workforce and then try to get them back, it creates a challenge,” said Hunchak. “A lot of those folks have moved on to other jobs."
Back at the passport office in Victoria, Lewis was able to conclude her two-month passport renewal odyssey successfully.
"I'm just happy I have my passport in hand and I don't have to reschedule my trip,” she said.
With lines like what is currently sitting outside of the passport office in Victoria, it’s unclear if others will have her luck.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Two people dead following severe Ontario thunderstorm
Two people were struck and killed by falling trees during a severe thunderstorm that hit most of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon.

Putin's invasion of Ukraine an 'act of madness,' former U.K. PM Blair says
The United Kingdom's former prime minister Tony Blair says Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is an 'act of madness.' In an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday, Blair said Putin doesn't appear to be the same man he knew in the early 2000s.
Flu cases on the rise in Canada despite expected fall
The federal government is reporting a sharp rise in influenza in recent months, at a time of the year when detected cases generally start to fall in Canada.
BREAKING | Toronto investigating first suspected case of monkeypox
Health officials in Toronto say they are investigating the first suspected case of monkeypox in the city.
Storm topples trees in southern Ont., killing 2; warnings remain for parts of Ont., Que.
As the May long weekend kicked off, a massive thunderstorm in southern Ontario brought strong wind gusts that knocked down trees, took out power and left at least two people dead.
Youngest of 10 Buffalo shooting victims laid to rest
Roberta Drury, a 32-year-old woman who was the youngest of the 10 Black people killed at a Buffalo supermarket, was remembered at her funeral Saturday for her love for family and friends, tenacity 'and most of all, that smile that could light up a room.'
The science behind why smoke seems to follow you around a campfire
Why does smoke seem to follow you around a campfire? B.C. research scientist Kerry Anderson told CTVNews.ca the answer actually boils down to physics.
Expert's tips on what to do if you're being carjacked amid rash of Toronto incidents
Some drivers in Toronto may be feeling on edge as Toronto is dealing with a rash of violent carjackings targeting mostly high-end vehicles.
A year of trauma, catharsis and finally peace for some survivors of Kamloops school
The nightmares started last May, said Harvey McLeod, chief of the Upper Nicola Indian Band and a survivor of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.