Royal Mail give update on areas affected by Covid delays

The company said the delays are due to staff isolating and social distancing guidelines meaning deliveries are taking longer.

With areas around the UK still affected, Royal Mail released a service update for customers.

The company said there are currently high volumes of mail being posted, which is having an impact on wait times.

A statement issued yesterday said: "We're out delivering and collecting wherever it's safe and possible to do so today.

"We’re sorry that some addresses may experience disruption as a result of snow and ice, particularly in parts of Scotland, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent.

"Deliveries may also be disrupted in some areas due to resourcing issues in a number of our delivery offices."

Mapped - the areas suffering from delays:

The places listed:

• Croydon (CR0, CR9)
• Derby (DE1, DE3, DE21 to DE24, DE72 to DE74 and DE99)
• Enfield DO (EN1-3)
• Grays DO (RM16-RM20)
• Harwich DO (CO12)
• South Croydon DO (CR0, CR2)
• St Albans (AL1-AL5)
• Wootton Bassett DO (SN4 and SN16)

What Royal Mail said:

"We’re working hard to deliver as comprehensive a service as possible to all our customers during these challenging times.

"Every single parcel and letter is important to us.

"Despite our best efforts and significant investment in extra resource, some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales than our usual service standards.

"This is due to the exceptionally high volumes of mail posted during this further lockdown period, alongside necessary coronavirus-related measures we have put in place in local mail centres and delivery offices to keep our people and customers safe.

Royal Mail said some postcodes are still suffering from delays due to the Covid pandemic

"In such cases, we always work hard to get back to providing our usual level of service as quickly as we can.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. Please be assured we’re working hard to deliver as comprehensive a service as possible.

"If you need to collect an item for which we've left a 'Something for you' card from one of these offices, please check royalmail.com/services-near-you for details of our revised Customer Service Point opening hours.

"If we’ve not left a ‘Something for you card’, and you do not have alternative arrangements in place, we’re sorry that your mail will not be available for collection."

Royal Mail Distribution
Royal Mail operates an overnight air, rail and road network to move letters and parcels between distribution hubs, mail processing centres and delivery offices around the UK. Any logistical delays detailed below will also be reflected in the mail centre processing report.

Air
Several flights were delayed on Tuesday night due to aircraft requiring de-icing, and runways needing to be cleared of snow and ice.

• SEE ALSO: ​Royal Mail issue weekend update on areas affected by delays due to Covid

Onward road services were held to await arrival of the aircraft, but this caused late arrivals at the respective mail centres. 

Rail
Rail network operated normally on Tuesday night.

Road
Our road network operated normally on Tuesday night, but snow and ice in some parts of the UK has caused some disruption. Late arriving mail into mail centres due to road conditions, will be reflected in the mail centre processing report below.

Mail Centres
The mail centres below have reported not all mail was processed to schedule last night (see above), and as a result may be delivered later than expected:

Bristol Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the BA, BS, GL and TA postcode areas.

Chelmsford Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the CM, CO, IP and SS postcode areas.

Edinburgh Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the DD, EH, FK, KY, PH and TD postcode areas.

Glasgow Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the G, KA, ML and PA postcode areas.

Home Counties North Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the AL, EN, HP, LU, SG and WD postcode areas.

Inverness Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the HS, IV and KW postcode areas.

Northern Ireland Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the BT postcode area.

Southampton Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the PO, SO and SP postcode areas.

South Midland Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the CV, LE, MK and NN postcode areas.

Swindon Mail Centre: Some mail posted across the UK on Tuesday, due for delivery today to addresses in the OX, RG and SN postcode areas.