Below is a quick overview of events around the world that may cause delays to the delivery of your international mail.
Civil Unrest within Main UK Cities
As reported widely on both National TV and Press, a number of cities accross the UK have exprerienced a considerable ammount of civil unrest during the past 2-3 days.
Fortunately, to date, the effect on our operations has been very limited. However, we have taken action in order to ensure our service to our customers remains at the highest possible level whilst maintaining a safe and secure workforce.
At present, only a small number of our local depot operations have been affected by the civil unrest and subsequent disruption, these being Croydon, and . There is also a perceived risk of the following locations being adversely affected: London Heston, , Liverpool, Manchester Bredbury, , Park Royal and , although, with the very unpredictable nature of the unrest, other locations around the country cannot be discounted.
A full contingency plan has been brought into effect to minimise the disruption to our operation and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees and our customers’ goods. Our teams across the country are empowered to carry out dynamic risk assessment as the circumstances demand.
To track and trace the status of your consignment click here. For the latest information on the situation - www.bbc.co.uk/news
Volcanic Ash - Update as at 1200 noon on 25 May 2011
The Iceland volcano Grimsvötn has stopped erupting. The European air safety organisation Eurocontrol today said the ash cloud could affect Berlin and also parts of Poland today. However, airports in Germany south of Bremen are not expected to be affected. There are no restrictions on flights in any other part of Europe. According to the Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in London, the ash cloud coverage will dissipate during the day.
As expected yesterday, the ash cloud impacted parts of Iceland, Scotland, Sweden, Latvia and northern Germany. Last night and this morning, TNT Express, like other airlines, could not operate flights to Edinburgh (Scotland), Stavanger (Norway) and Gothenburg (Sweden).
In coordination with its customers, TNT Express has rolled out contingency plans to re-route Edinburgh-bound flights to East-Midlands and Gothenburg-bound flights to Oslo. TNT Express completes the linehaul legs by road. TNT’s service to and from the US is expected to return to a normal schedule shortly.
The actual impact of the eruption on TNT Express’ operations has been limited. The company’s air hub in Liege is fully operational. Although we do not expect any major disruption to our service during the next days, we are keeping a close eye on the situation together with the aviation authorities.
VOLCANIC ASH UPDATE
25 May 2011 – 10:15 AM CET
The Iceland volcano Grimsvötn is still erupting but to lower levels than during the weekend. As expected yesterday, the ash cloud impacted parts of Iceland, Scotland, Sweden, Latvia and northern Germany. Last night and this morning, TNT Express, like other airlines, could not operate flights to Edinburgh (Scotland), Stavanger (Norway) and Gothenburg (Sweden). The UK's Meteorological office has predicted that the volcanic ash will clear northern areas of the country by early today.
In coordination with its customers, TNT Express has rolled out contingency plans to re-route Edinburgh-bound flights to East-Midlands and Gothenburg-bound flights to Oslo. TNT Express completes the linehaul legs by road. Consignments from Gothenburg and Stavanger to the rest of Europe could suffer a delay of up to 24 hours. TNT’s flights to and from the US will also be delayed due to the closure of the Icelandic air space.
The actual impact of the eruption on TNT Express’ operations has been limited so far. The company’s air hub in Liege is fully operational. Although we do not expect any major disruption to our service during the next days, we are keeping a close eye on the situation together with the aviation authorities.
Myanmar - 23rd May, 2011
Effective today, Monday the 23rd of May, 2011, TNT has suspended all trading to and from Myanmar.
This means that the Myanmar country website has been closed down and the country removed as a location option from TNT shipping tools, so that Myanmar can no longer be selected during a booking or quotation from TNT customer service.
Shipments made to Myanmar prior to the 23rd of May will be delivered until the 31st of May at the latest. Shipments received in Myanmar after the 31st of May will be returned to sender as undelivered.
25 January 2011 15.00 hours
Russia - Moscow Domodedovo Airport Bombing
Air traffic to Russia is subject to disruption and potential delays in the wake of Monday's bomb blast at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. Heightened security alerts at Domodedovo - the Russian capital's busiest airport - and other airports across the country, will inevitably impact on flights to and from Russia in the coming days.
TNT Express Services is working to try and ensure deliveries to and from Russia continue as normal but, in light of the disruption, are advising customers that some service delays may be experienced in the transportation of their goods to and from Russia.
To track and trace your consignment(s) please click here for more detailed information.
29 December 2010
Wednesday 29 December 2010: Extreme weather conditions in Europe has impacted TNT’s operations
Europe has been dealing with the most extreme weather conditions since the last 24 years. Liège airport, TNT’s central air hub in , as well as other European airports, was severely disrupted due to extremely bad conditions and heavy snow showers. In the past week and days this has been causing delays for shipments that travel by air in . Currently the continued difficult operation conditions due to an accumulation of snow and ice are almost resolved and it is expected that TNT is resuming its normal air operation as of Thursday 30 December 2010.
TNT has activated its business continuity plan and were possible has re-routed the affected shipments onto its European Road Network, although the roads were also impacted by the bad weather conditions. TNT will do its utmost to keep customers informed about the status of their shipments and managed to resume normal operations through its European Road Network as of Sunday 26 December 2010.
Yemen - 31 October 2010
Sunday 31 October 2010: Screening & Embargo of shipments from Yemen
TNT has put an embargo on all shipments from Yemen, as requested by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and fully cooperates with any required examination of shipments.
Shipments originating from Yemen in the same time frame are being quarantined in Dubai or Liege until cleared.
Shipments originating from Yemen that are handled by TNT are always pass through Dubai, where they are screened and xrayed. TNT does not operate dedicated flights to/from Yemen.
As an international air carrier with inbound flights to the U.S., TNT Airways applies strict security measures in cooperation with transportation security officials.
Summary of recent developments as at 30 October 2010
Officials in the U.K. and Dubai have intercepted two packages originating from Yemen, which were bound for Chicago, United States. Both packages contained explosives. One package, found at the UK's East Midlands Airport, contained a "manipulated" toner cartridge with wires and a circuit board on it, a law enforcement source said. A similar package set to be shipped on a cargo plane was discovered in Dubai, the law enforcement source and Dubai officials said.
The discovery triggered examinations of three cargo planes that landed in Philadelphia and in Newark, New Jersey. An airline passenger plane was escorted by fighter jets to New York because of concerns about a package from Yemen on board. Nothing suspicious was found on the planes, according to the FBI.
For the latest international news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
France - Friday- 29th October 2010
General Strike Action - France Tuesday 12 October to Saturday 30 October 2010
The situation in France with regards to the general strike action and public protests has cause less disruption this week. In addition, the country wide fuel shortages of the last few weeks have all but disappeared and yesterday's 'day of action' had limited effect on flights out of the major airports.
However, unions have called for a further 'national day of action' on Saturday 6 November. Today marks the end of the national half term school holidays in France and unions are predicting a much higher level of support for this next event.
Our service across France has now, in the main, returned to normal. As previously advised, our pick up and delivery operations may be affected in locations where demonstrations take place.
For latest news visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11641402