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Delays to Jersey postal deliveries labelled a 'disaster' following loss of mail plane

  • Businesses who rely on the aircraft for vital deliveries say the delays are jeopardising their future.

A Jersey business owner has called the loss of the island's daily mail plane a "disaster".

Benjamin Martin runs a local skincare store and says the difference since it was scrapped has been substantial.

He explained: "It's getting a bit scary to be honest, especially with Christmas round the corner we're already trying to order in for a very busy period ... and we're already hitting massive roadblocks.

"We're trying to get brand new products out on the shelf and again we're being stopped by this mail plane disaster."

It comes as an ITV Channel investigation shows that first-class UK letters which were expected to be delivered by ferry in two working days can actually take more than a week to arrive.

Jersey Post and Royal Mail stressed that getting rid of the mail at the start of August would not result in significant delays - with the former saying its priority would be to provide a "consistent, reliable service".

Responding to ITV News's findings, Jersey Post Managing Director Julie Thomas admitted: "It's really disappointing for customers. Unfortunately, if letters are being posted in the Royal Mail UK network, those are going to be collected and sorted in the superhub or the national distribution centre to get to Jersey.

"That's where the difficulties sometimes happen and it's due to the staffing issues that Royal Mail have suffered."

The first-class letters were posted to Jersey on the same day from various places in the UK. Credit: ITV Channel

The letters were sent from various parts of the UK by first-class post to ITV Channel's Jersey office on 7 August, the first day of the mail ferry service.

The amount of time it took for these letters to be delivered from the following locations is shown below:

ITV News has contacted Royal Mail about these findings and is waiting for a response.

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