APO mail to resume in UK

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joel Mease
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs
RAF ALCONBURY, United KIngdom --  Post offices at Royal Air Force Bases in the United Kingdom have resumed processing and accepting mail April 23, after being delayed for more than a week due to flight restrictions from the volcanic ash cloud.

"It will take four to five days to clear out the backlog mail for the states and within USAFE," said Master Sgt. David Braun, 423rd Air Base Group Tri-base Postmaster. "Mail flow is expected to return to a normal flow around April 27."

Sergeant Braun said it may take 10 to 15 days for mail transit for first class and Priority Mail, and an additional five days for transit from the United States to the United Kingdom. Mail started to leave on the evening of April 22.

Since the beginning of the volcanic ash cloud flight ban until April 22, no military mail has flown in or out of commercial airports in Benelux, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, or the United Kingdom since a temporary ban on flights in 10 European nations was imposed April 15. Commercial airports in Europe are essential hubs for moving military mail in and out of countries where U.S. servicemembers and their families are stationed.

The 2nd Air Postal Squadron Mail transportation in Ramstein, Germany, manages and tracks military mail transportation for U.S. Air Force in Europe. Squadron officials said Frankfurt International Airport is dealing with a backlog of 26 tons of outbound mail for worldwide destinations.

Another critical mail control activity, London Heathrow Airport, which receives all mail for air bases in the UK, has a back log of 1.5 tons. The U.S. Postal Service has a backlog of 91 tons and 12 tons waiting to be dispatched from stateside hubs to Frankfurt and London, respectively.

Military mail hubs in Madrid, Spain, and Istanbul, Turkey, remain unaffected by the volcanic ash.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this natural event is causing and request that customers continue to monitor their local servicing APOs for mail updates," Sergeant Braun said. "We will be receiving large mail volumes through April 27, and shortly after that we should return to a normal operation."

(USAFE Public Affairs contributed to this article)