Ferry company rescues family holiday
Condor Ferries has given a free trip to a British family who had to cancel their first ever holiday when their new passports failed to arrive in time.
Kelly Thomas and Darren Friend were due to take their two-year-old son Beau to France with his grandparents, but they were forced to put their plans on hold as the toddler and his father’s passports were amongst the hundreds of thousands of unprocessed documents held up at Passport Offices around the UK.
When it heard of the family’s disappointment, Condor Ferries stepped in to offer them a free trip to the Channel Islands. The family has also been offered a free apartment for the five-day trip to Jersey by Morvan Hotels.
Kelly from Falmouth said: "We literally can’t believe this is happening – it’s not every day you get such an amazing and generous offer. We were devastated when we realised we were going to have to miss our first family holiday but Condor Ferries has completely saved the day. We’re thrilled to bits and cannot wait to travel with them to Jersey next month."
Condor Ferries sales and marketing director Alicia Andrews said: "We are delighted to be able to come to Kelly and Darren’s rescue and offer a free trip to the Channel Islands, courtesy of Condor Ferries.
"There are families up and down the country finding themselves in a similar situation who think they will have to go without their longed-for summer holiday because of the passport backlog, but they don’t.
"Travel to the Channel Islands with Condor Ferries does not require a passport and with our regular fast ferry services, holidaymakers can be topping up their tans in just two and half hours."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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