Airline capacity limiting postal deliveries
Jamaica Post says issue outside its control
Published:Wednesday | February 15, 2023 | 12:29 AM
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The Post and Telecommunications Department, which trades as Jamaica Post, is citing restricted airlift since the pandemic as the primary reason for the dramatic reduction in delivery routes worldwide. It comes amid continuing recovery of the...
The Post and Telecommunications Department, which trades as Jamaica Post, is citing restricted airlift since the pandemic as the primary reason for the dramatic reduction in delivery routes worldwide.
It comes amid continuing recovery of the aviation sector, under which the transport of air cargo is said to be secondary to passenger travel as airlines weigh their carrying capacity.
Jamaica Post now delivers to 38 countries, up from 10 in December, but prior to the pandemic in 2020, it delivered to around 190 global destinations.
The postal service advised that despite Jamaica’s borders as well as the wider postal network being fully reopened, some airlines and partner countries still have not fully regularised their operations. Consequently, outbound mail dispatches for some destinations remain suspended until further notice. It is a situation that is “beyond the department’s control”, stated Tanickea Bennett, public relations officer at Jamaica Post, on behalf of the Postmaster General in response to queries.
The reduction in destinations has affected individuals but also micro and small businesses that use the post office to export goods to destinations. The post office provides a cost-effective and secure method of shipping compared to more expensive rapid courier services led by Fedex and DHL.
An aircraft needs to operate within its loading limits otherwise it cannot climb. To achieve this, pilots must ensure that the weight of passengers, cargo, fuel and air pressure are all balanced and fall within the safe limits to fly the aircraft.
Both travel and air cargo continue to recover, but still lagged prepandemic levels at the end of 2022, according to the International Airport Transport Association, better known by its acronym IATA.
In the meantime, the airlines are said to be prioritising passengers over cargo to take advantage of increased demand for travel and tourism.
“It has been observed that due to an increase in passenger travel, airlines have been trying to balance this increased demand on their carrying capacity against growing demands for airlift to transport mail items and other cargo. This situation has been exacerbated by logistics and operational changes implemented by the said airlines to include the introduction of smaller aircraft on some routes and reduced frequency in flights,” said Jamaica Post in direct correspondence to the Financial Gleaner issued by Public Relations Officer Tanickea Bennett on behalf the Postmaster General.
Bennett added that the postal service continues to consult on mail transportation and logistics and is trying to navigate regional and global challenges that are beyond its control.
Currently, there are six airlines that are widely used by regional postal administrations, with Caribbean Airlines being their main aviation partner. Jamaica Post has also utilised the services of Air Canada, British Airways and American Airlines, at least in the past.
Late last year, deliveries got so restricted that mail wasn’t even going to Trinidad from Jamaica, the hub of Caribbean Airlines. In November, Jamaica Post hosted a meeting among Caribbean postal players to brainstorm solutions to improve mail delivery around the region.
“The next phase is to develop the plans and onboard the respective governments, who will first scrutinise and make the necessary modifications to said plans before implementation. Jamaica Post continues to work closely with all stakeholders to establish the best possible mail transportation/logistics solutions to enable trade and connectivity regionally and globally,” Jamaica Post in its correspondence, which came in response to a previous Financial Gleaner story saying e-commerce was being pulled back because of the reduction in global mail delivery routes.
Effective January, the destinations that Jamaica Post delivers to span: Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Guyana, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, Panama, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Sint Maarten, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uruguay and United States.
Jamaica Post handled 25.1 million units of mail in 2021, down 11 per cent relative to 2020, according to the latest version of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica. The figure included inbound and outbound mail. The number of parcels, which is the main method used to mail goods, dropped to 115,000 units from 187,000.
Worldwide, nearly 320.4 billion letters and post items are sent every year, according to IATA, which adds that “airmail plays an essential role in their delivery”.