PERRYSBURG, Ohio — With an increase in people trying to scratch that international travel itch, more people are seeking to renew their passports.
Roadside assistance and travel agency company AAA has seen a significant surge in people requesting passport help. The business is chipping in with some extra help to make the process a little easier for consumers.
Over the next two weeks, travel advisors will be at the Perrysburg (Aug.1-5) and Sylvania (Aug. 8-12) AAA locations to help with passport photos and international driving permits. Experts with AAA said there is a long waiting period for some of these documents, which is why they recommend to plan far in advance if you need one.
"If you’re coming in for renewals, we're saying for sure to come in in advance," Cindy Russeau with AAA said. "If you’re ready to renew your passport, processing is taking about 8 to 11 weeks, so you want to make sure that you’re doing that ahead of time."
Since the beginning of this year AAA locations have seen an 85% increase in people coming to their stores for passport photos. Officials said the dollar to Euro exchange rate is the best it’s been in 20 years, which is prompting some to go international.
Despite interest for travel going up, flight prices are still high.
"We are still seeing that travel demand is increasing some of those prices for flights. We're suggesting that you definitely book ahead of time," Russeau said. "And we’re still seeing cancellations due to staffing issues with some of the airports."
Airline staffing shortages around the globe continue to cause delays and cancellations, so travelers should anticipate that possibility ahead of time and plan around it.
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