All post to come and go by boat from July

Guernsey Post is completely withdrawing the island’s ‘mail plane’ service this summer.

Just a year after the utility announced that in-bound post would arrive on the ferry, and out-bound post would continue going by plane, it now says rising costs means that can’t continue.

From July all standard in- and out-bound post will come and go by boat, with plans being worked on to ensure urgent items can still leave the island by plane.

The change will have an impact of staff hours too – and that is also still being addressed.

A Guernsey Post spokesperson said operational working hours are being reviewed to align with Guernsey Post’s new schedules.

“We are working closely with staff and union representatives to ensure any adjustments are carefully planned and fully supported.”

Guernsey Post Chief Executive Steve Sheridan said the change to an all-sea solution for both outgoing and incoming non-urgent post will help the utility keep its mail service running though – so the change has to be made.

“Our priority is to provide a reliable, well-managed and financially sustainable postal service for the island,” he said.

“Transitioning standard mail to sea allows for that whilst also protecting essential services for those who depend on them.”

Guernsey’s fully in- and out- bound mail plane service ended in April last year after Royal Mail stopped contributing to the running costs.

Jersey had already lost its mail plane service and switched to all its mail coming and going by boat – but Guernsey Post initially managed to secure an outbound mail plane service for all business and residential post leaving the island.

That service saw the in-bound mail coming by ferry – which Guernsey Post said at the time would add around 24-hours to cross-Channel delivery times.

The utility said the situation has changed since that system was set up though and market conditions, costs and usage patterns have continued to shift meaning the mail plane service for standard out-bound mail is no longer viable, less than a year after it was introduced.

The transition to the new all-sea mail service will start from July.

The out-bound mail plane service will continue until then, with the final flight scheduled to leave the island on Friday 5 July.

From then on all standard mail will be transported to the UK via the island’s existing sea freight network.

Guernsey Post has said that it recognises the importance of maintaining a next-day service for urgent items though, so the utility is continuing to work on securing a daily service using commercial partners for scheduled flights.

Guernsey Post is also introducing “new competitively priced parcel options” to coincide with the transition to the all-sea mail service model.

Mr Sheridan said the “enhancements” to that service will be “made possible by the efficiencies generated through the move to sea”.

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