The two main justifications for adding chips to passports are that they improve security at border crossings and speed up immigration procedures. Your correspondent thinks this is poppycock.
I felt pretty sure that a closer inspection of that British passport would have betrayed the fact that Mr. Kelada was born under a bluer sky than is generally seen in England.
And while she'd originally hoped to be home by Christmas, weather and passport delays slowed her down and different country's COVID restrictions have kept her from sightseeing on the ground.