UK Royal Mail to use bigger aircraft

Royal Mail is to use bigger aircraft to transport letters by air in cost-cutting plans which will affect up to 50 jobs, it was announced today.

The number of flights will be halved from the current 39 a night, while fewer airports will be used to handle mail.

But the changes will result in a million extra items of mail being transported by air every day – from 5.5 million to 6.5 million – the postal service said.

The number of workers employed on the air distribution network will be cut from the present 250 by up to 50, but the Royal Mail said some would be redeployed.

Air links to Cardiff, Heathrow (inland only), Gatwick (inland), Norwich, Norfolk, and Speke, Merseyside, are expected to end when the changes come into force from next month.

Paul Bateson, Royal Mail’s managing director, logistics, said: “This new network will improve the efficiency of our air operation, distributing more mail than we currently do by air at a comparable cost to our present system.

“The new network will provide greater efficiency and quality of service by using fewer, larger, containerised jet aircraft which reduces the need for handling operations at airports. The use of jet aircraft will also deliver benefits as they are better able to cope with adverse weather conditions, compared with the less modern turboprop aircraft currently used.”

Royal Mail is also switching more post from rail to road under its new distribution plans.

Unions are campaigning to stop more mail being delivered by road.