Urban Art Association

Increased security measures delays mail to US, by Fake on Jan 13, 2011 11:09:23 GMT 1, I don't know if this has been posted yet but I think this is good to know.

below you can find the Royal mail statement on the delays of post to the US.
In my experience the delays now have stepped up to around 5 weeks.

The strange thing is that I cant find any statement about this on any US websites

(scroll down to #8)
www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400033&mediaId=3800088

USA
Start date: 18th November
End date: Ongoing

Increased security measures delays some mail to USA

Since November 2010, the United States Department of Homeland Security has increased security measures for items carried on passenger airlines. As a result, mail entering the US from around the world, and including the UK, that would normally be sent via passenger aircraft must now travel by other means, including ships and cargo planes.

Most items, including personal letters and cards, will arrive in the US within a few days of posting. The vast majority of Christmas cards and gifts posted prior to the last recommended posting date of 10th December will have arrived in the US in time for Christmas. However, these ongoing security issues, combined with the impact of recent severe weather on the movement of mail throughout the UK, are continuing to cause delays to some items bound for the US. The delays mainly affect heavier items, but also affect other items including Destination Sort bags posted under contract by business customers. We’re really sorry for these unavoidable delays and are doing everything we can to keep mail moving out of and into the UK.

We have implemented a number of contingency plans to ensure as much of our customers’ mail reaches the US as quickly as possible. Handling significantly increased volumes of mail at this festive time along with the complexity of reacting at pace to contingency arrangements, means we’re unable to track individual items for customers or identify exactly when in the current arrival patterns deliveries are likely to take place.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are continuing to work to minimize disruption to our customers, whilst ensuring we comply fully with the US directives and regulations.

I don't know if this has been posted yet but I think this is good to know.

below you can find the Royal mail statement on the delays of post to the US.
In my experience the delays now have stepped up to around 5 weeks.

The strange thing is that I cant find any statement about this on any US websites

(scroll down to #8)
www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400033&mediaId=3800088

USA
Start date: 18th November
End date: Ongoing

Increased security measures delays some mail to USA

Since November 2010, the United States Department of Homeland Security has increased security measures for items carried on passenger airlines. As a result, mail entering the US from around the world, and including the UK, that would normally be sent via passenger aircraft must now travel by other means, including ships and cargo planes.

Most items, including personal letters and cards, will arrive in the US within a few days of posting. The vast majority of Christmas cards and gifts posted prior to the last recommended posting date of 10th December will have arrived in the US in time for Christmas. However, these ongoing security issues, combined with the impact of recent severe weather on the movement of mail throughout the UK, are continuing to cause delays to some items bound for the US. The delays mainly affect heavier items, but also affect other items including Destination Sort bags posted under contract by business customers. We’re really sorry for these unavoidable delays and are doing everything we can to keep mail moving out of and into the UK.

We have implemented a number of contingency plans to ensure as much of our customers’ mail reaches the US as quickly as possible. Handling significantly increased volumes of mail at this festive time along with the complexity of reacting at pace to contingency arrangements, means we’re unable to track individual items for customers or identify exactly when in the current arrival patterns deliveries are likely to take place.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are continuing to work to minimize disruption to our customers, whilst ensuring we comply fully with the US directives and regulations.