Service Update

Royal Mail operates an air, rail and road network to move letters and parcels between our distribution hubs, mail processing centres and delivery offices around the UK. Here we let you know about any significant issues in our logistics operation.

Air
Our air network services operated to schedule over the weekend with the following exceptions: Strong cross winds cancelled Saturday’s flights between East Midlands airport and Belfast airport. Mail was transferred to contingency services, and as a result, some items posted in the Midlands, south west and north of England, Wales and central and southern Scotland, due for delivery in Northern Ireland, may arrive later than planned. Items travelling in the opposite direction may also be affected.

Rail
Our rail network services operated to schedule over the weekend.

Road
Our road network services operated to schedule over the weekend with the following exceptions:

Strong winds delayed the departure of mail travelling from our Midland Hub to Exeter and Cardiff. As a result, some mail posted in other parts of the UK, due for delivery in the EX and CF postcode areas may arrive later than planned. 

Red weather warnings delayed the departure of mail travelling from our South West parcel hub to Cardiff and Swansea. As a result, some mail posted yesterday in other parts of the UK, due for delivery in the CF and SA postcode areas may arrive later than expected. 

Mail Centres
The mail centres below reported not all mail was processed or despatched to schedule over the weekend. As a result, some mail may be delivered later than planned.

•  Bristol: Some mail posted in other parts of the UK, due for delivery to addresses in the BA, BS, GL and TA postcode areas and some mail posted in the BA, BS, GL and TA postcode areas, due for delivery in other parts of the UK. As a result, some mail may be delivered later than planned.
  Cardiff: Some mail posted in the CF, LD and NP postcode areas, due for delivery in other parts of the UK.
  Dorset: Some mail posted in the BH and DT postcode areas, due for delivery in other parts of the UK.
  Swansea: Some mail posted in the SA postcode area, due for delivery in other parts of the UK.

The Met Office issued red and amber weather warnings for heavy rain and strong winds in parts of the UK on Saturday, 7 December 2024.

There may be ongoing disruption to mail delivery, collection, and distribution. Although we will strive to maintain our services in areas where it is safe to do so, the safety of our people is our top priority.

The Met Office Red weather warning covered parts of the following areas between 3 am and 11 am on Saturday, 7 December 2024.

South West England

• Bath and North East Somerset (BA, BS)
• Bristol (BS)
• Devon (EX)
• North Somerset (BA, BS, TA)
• Somerset (BA)
• South Gloucestershire (BS)

 Wales

• Bridgend (CF)
• Cardiff (CF)
• Carmarthenshire (SA)
• Ceredigion (SA)
• Conwy (LL)
• Gwynedd (LL)
• Isle of Anglesey (LL)
• Monmouthshire (NP)
• Neath Port Talbot (CF, SA)
• Newport (NP)
• Pembrokeshire (SA)
• Swansea (SA)
• Vale of Glamorgan (CF

The Met Office also issued an Amber weather warning for Storm Darragh on Saturday, 7 December 2024, which covered parts of the following areas between 1 am and 9 pm on Saturday, 7 December 2024:

North West England
•    Blackpool (FY)
•    Cheshire West and Chester (CH, CW, SK, SY, WA) 
•    Cumbria (CA, LA)
•    Lancashire (BB, BD, BL, FY, L, LA, PR, WN)
•    Merseyside (CH, L, WA)

Northern Ireland
•    County Antrim (BT)
•    County Armagh (BT)
•    County Down (BT)
•    County Fermanagh (BT)
•    County Londonderry (BT)
•    County Tyrone (BT)

SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
•    Dumfries and Galloway (DG, KA, ML)

South West England
•    Cornwall (EX, PL, TR)
•    Devon (PL, TA, TQ)
•    Dorset (BH, DT, SP, TA)
•    Isles of Scilly (TR)
•    Plymouth (PL)
•    Somerset (BA, BS, TA)

Strathclyde
•    South Ayrshire (KA)

Wales
•    Caerphilly (CF)
•    Denbighshire (CH, LL)
•    Flintshire (CH)
•    Powys (CF, LD, NP, SY)
•    Rhondda Cynon Taf (CF)
•    Wrexham (LL)

Please note, this list is not exhaustive, and other areas may be affected. It is always best to check the Met Office website for the latest information.

We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors. In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.

We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We will regularly update customers on the offices most impacted here:

• Abingdon DO (OX13 and OX14)
• Basingstoke DO (RG21-RG26 and RG28)
• Bethnal Green DO (E2, E8 and E9)
• Bow DO (E3) 
• Burnham On Sea DO (TA8 and TA9)
• Canterbury DO (CT1 - CT6)
• Carterton DO (OX18)
• Clevedon DO (BS21 and BS49)
• Coalville DO (LE67)
• Fareham DO (PO14 - PO17)
• Finchley Church End DO (N3)
• Frome DO (BA11)
• Gosport DO (PO12 and PO13)
• Hyde DO (SK13, SK14 and SK16) 
• Keith DO (AB55)
• Leicester East DO (LE2, LE5 and LE7)
• Margate DO (CT7 - CT9)
• Oxford East DO (OX3, OX4, OX33, OX44 and OX49)
• Ongar DO (CM5)
• Plymouth North DO (PL2 and PL3)
• Plympton DO (PL7)
• Portsmouth DO (PO1 – PO6)
• Radstock DO (BA3)
• Reading East DO (RG4 - RG6 and RG10)
• Swan House DO (LE1, LE3, LE7, LE8, LE9, LE19 and LE95)
• Thatcham DO (RG18 and RG19)
• Tonbridge DO (TN1-TN5 and TN9-TN12)
• Wallingford DO (OX10 and OX49)
• Wantage DO (OX12)
• Waterlooville DO (PO7 and PO8)
• Whetstone DO (N20)
• Wilmslow DO (SK9)

If you need to collect an item for which we've left a 'Something for You' card, please check royalmail.com/services-near-you for details of our Customer Service Point locations and opening hours.

How does the weather affect my deliveries? 

When there is severe weather - such as significant snowfall, icy conditions or localised flooding - your street or some of the roads on route to your address may become too dangerous to access. We will always make every attempt to get your mail to you daily, if it’s safe for us to do so. Our postmen and women may start their rounds but are unable to finish them because of issues along the way. Conditions can improve or deteriorate quickly, so we undertake risk assessments throughout the day to ensure we’re doing all we can to get to as many addresses as possible. And we always work hard to return to full services as quickly as it’s safe for us to do so. 

Will my business mail be collected today? 

If we think there’s anything that may prevent us from collecting your business mail – whether that’s due to resourcing issues, severe weather or unplanned road closures - we’ll make every effort to let you know. This could be by telephone from one of our local collection managers, or an email from our Customer Service Team. We’ll get in touch even if we can’t say for certain if we’ll get to you or not as the disruptive issues continue to change, because we know how important it is that you have information so you can plan. Every effort is made to be there for you and to ensure we let you know if there’s a chance we won’t be.  

Our last posting dates for Christmas are now available on our website.

Please visit our Last Posting Dates webpage.

Public and local holidays

We deliver and collect your mail on most days of the year, including Saturdays. However, we don’t usually deliver or collect on public or local holidays. (Please note: Local holidays are subject to change).

Please use the links below to see the public and local holidays and how they will affect our services.

England and Wales 2024

Northern Ireland 2024 

Scotland 2024

England and Wales 2024

Northern Ireland 2024

Scotland 2024

To find out about the latest incidents affecting post across the world, please visit our International Incident Bulletin page.

Customers sending items requiring a customs declaration (such as goods or gifts) internationally are asked to purchase postage online, through shipping solutions or over the counter at Post Office branches rather than using stamps or meters.

In addition to the Tracking information available through the Royal Mail website, senders and recipients may be able to access additional tracking information on the destination posts webpages.

Keep up to date with information about Royal Mail services in your local area. Sign-up  to receive our service alerts.