Update: Iceland volcano Royal Mail delays

Royal Mail have issued an update on possible delays to mail caused by flight disruptions. The following information is correct as of the afternoon of 21st April:

Special Delivery

All guarantees are back in place for mail posted from 21st April onwards, although most deliveries have continued to be delivered on schedule during the disruption Royal Mail are now confident they can deliver to all areas of the UK on time.

International inbound mail

Mail has started to enter the UK by air again although recovery is slow, and many European postal authorities are also continuing to use alternative transport solutions to move international mail. Customers should check with the relevant foreign postal authorities for further details.

Mail leaving the UK for Europe

There may continue to be some delays to deliveries while road services are supporting the recovering air network. For close European destinations this should be no more than 48 hours and for central Europe 72 hours.

Mail leaving the UK for USA & Canada

Airmail items posted 15th-17th April inclusive and addressed to the USA are with airline handlers ready for despatch as soon as flights have capacity.

Items posted 18th-20th April are being sent by sea container for arrival in the USA on or around 30th April. If your items were posted between these dates it’s worth informing customers that there will be a delay, but at least they can be assured that their item is en route.

Airmail items posted from today, 21st April, onwards will be despatched by air with the first flights out of the UK expected to commence this weekend due to capacity constraints.

To date, mail destined for Canada has been processed and passed to the relevant airlines so that it is ready for the first available flight this weekend. From today, mail will be despatched in sequential order, therefore some items mail incur a slight delay whilst schedules and airline capacity return to normal.

Mail leaving the UK for Rest of World destinations

For all other destinations, mail has been processed and passed to the relevant airlines so that it is ready for the first available flight. Royal Mail are awaiting confirmation as to how soon this mail will be despatched and we’ll share further updates as soon as the information is available.