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Royal Mail has announced the last posting dates for Christmas 2021 – and warned of potential delays caused by a number of factors including Covid restrictions.
Last year saw more packages sent by post than usual because UK restrictions meant people couldn’t go out to visit family and friends to drop off gifts.
And while there is no lockdown in place in the UK at present, coronavirus is still having an impact.
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Royal Mail said: “Allow plenty of time for posting. Please post items and gifts for Christmas early, particularly for International deliveries.
“Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.”
Here are the last posting dates for Christmas 2021 from Royal Mail:
Royal Mail Domestic
Friday, December 17 – Royal Mail Bulk Mail Economy
Saturday, December 18 – 2nd Class, 2nd Class Signed For, Royal Mail 48
Tuesday, December 21 – 1st Class, 1st Class Signed For, Royal Mail 24, Royal Mail Tracked 48
Wednesday, December 22 – Royal Mail Tracked 24
Thursday, December 23 – Special Delivery Guaranteed
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Royal Mail International Economy
Friday, November 26 – Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Turkey
Monday, November 29 – Western Europe
Last posting dates for international economy to other destinations have already gone.
Royal Mail International Standard, International tracking and signature services
Wednesday, December 1 – Caribbean
Monday, December 6 – Australia Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Portugal
Wednesday, December 8 – Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Far and Middle East
Friday, December 10 – Cyprus, Malta and Sweden
Saturday, December 11 – Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia), Turkey
Monday, December 13 – Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland and USA
Thursday, December 16 – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
Royal Mail International HM Forces Mail
Monday, November 29 – Airmail to Operational HM Forces
Monday, December 6 – Airmail to Static HM Forces
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Parcelforce
Parcelforce has also advised people to send packages early due to delays and disruption.
It explained: “We are expecting unprecedented volumes over the Christmas period, please try to send your parcels as early as possible to ensure they arrive in time for Christmas.
“We are still experiencing delays due to increased pressure on airline capacity and additional local measures to help prevent Covid-19 spreading – all of which impact on delivery times and result in additional delays to many overseas destinations. We are also experiencing disruption to parts of Europe due to customs delays.
“Therefore, we strongly advise that you should allow an additional two to three days onto our last posting dates to Europe and allow an additional week for rest of the world destinations.”
For delivery by Christmas Day in the UK, the last posting dates are:
Parcelforce Worldwide Global Express
Thursday, December 16 to Monday, December 20 – Europe
Monday, December 20 – USA and Canada
Friday, December 3 to Monday, December 20 – Rest of world
See here for the full list by Parcelforce service and by individual country.
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Before you go, please check out our Christmas Brumwish appeal here
