Australia
Start date: 25 March 2021
End date: 30 April 2021
Incident: extreme weather conditions
The designated operator of Australia, Australia Post, informs that it is no longer experiencing the extreme weather conditions that were affecting postal services in the states of New South Wales and Queensland.
Fiji
Start date: 20 April 2021
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of Fiji, Post Fiji Ltd, informs that, owing to the coronavirus pandemic and though some flights are possible for medical purposes, most international commercial flights to and from Fiji have been suspended until further notice with effect from 20 April 2021.
Post Fiji is therefore experiencing significant disruption in its daily operations, which has led to disruption of collection and deliveries for all international mail categories (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) and services.
France
Start date: 16 March 2020
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
Following the speech of the President of the French Republic on March 31, 2021 announcing a new containment from April 03 until May 02, 2021, the designated operator of France, La Poste, requests us to inform of the evolution of the situation to fight against the spread of Covid-19.
Due to the progression of the 3rd epidemic wave of Covid-19, reinforced measures have been put in place in the most impacted territories since Saturday, March 20, 2021.
They have been extended to the entire territory since Sunday morning, April 4, 2021.
Throughout the metropolitan territory, only certain businesses can open and travel, with some exceptions, is limited. Day care centers, schools, colleges and high schools have been closed since Friday evening, April 2, 2021
La Poste is applying all the protective measures required by the French Government to protect the health of its employees and the population.
The closure of schools, the reinforcement of sanitary rules with the closure of postal establishments as soon as a case of COVID is confirmed and the social distancing increasing the telecommuting lead de facto to a higher absenteeism and will have an impact on the opening hours of establishments open to the public.
La Poste is doing its utmost to ensure the continuity of its activity and the satisfaction of its customers. However, it would like to inform that the application of these new measures could have an impact on the respect of the delivery standards and the deadlines cannot always be guaranteed.
The usual operational contacts of La Poste remain the privileged interlocutors to answer all questions.
La Poste thanks all Interconnect members for their understanding and will keep them informed of any developments.
Start date: 26 April 2021
End date: 29 April 2021
Incident: IT migration
Operator completes IT migration: the technical migration of La Poste is now complete. All issues encountered have been resolved. Previously on April 26, the sending of international messages was impacted following the technical relocation of the mail branch’s servers.
French Polynesia
Start date: 17 February 2021
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of French Polynesia, OPT PF – FARE RATA, wishes to inform that international flights to the United States of America will be partially resumed with effect from 1 May 2021. Flights to and from France continue to operate twice per week, and international flights to the Oceania zone remain suspended.
OPT PF – FARE RATA is currently unable to maintain processing quality or meet quality of service standards for letter-post, parcel-post or EMS items from all Union member countries.
At present, all mail from the Asia-Oceania zone is reaching French Polynesia by sea once a month, while a proportion of parcel post from Europe arrives by sea once every 10 weeks.
India
Start date: 25 March 2020
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of India, the Department of Posts (India Post), informs that certain restrictions have been reintroduced in the country owing to the COVID-19 situation.
The air, rail and road network remains limited. India Post continues to accept inbound international mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items); however, owing to the limited domestic transport capacity, the declared or otherwise agreed service delivery standards (including delivery times and other quality parameters) cannot be guaranteed.
In the case of outbound mail, a limited number of cargo and evacuation flights are being used to dispatch letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items to select countries based on the availability of carriers.
Lithuania
Start date: 17 March 2020
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of Lithuania, Lietuvos paštas, asks us to inform other countries and their designated operators that the Lithuanian Government has extended the full country lockdown till 31 May 2021 to control the spread of the coronavirus.
While such measures remain in place, postal services will be still operating under certain restrictions, such as a reduced workforce to minimize physical contact between people. Items normally requiring the addressee’s signature upon delivery can be handed over without signature.
The processing and delivery of all types of inbound and outbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) will continue to be affected, and Lietuvos paštas is unable to guarantee compliance with the usual delivery standards. Therefore, the situation of force majeure declared will continue to apply.
Nepal
Start date: 27 March 2020
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
Nepal Post informs that the Nepalese Government has announced a two-week lockdown in the Kathmandu Valley and a number of cities with high rates of COVID-19, with effect from 29 April 2021. All public transport services are suspended during the lockdown, with the exception of domestic and international flights to and from Kathmandu, in compliance with the procedures established by the government.
These measures may result in delays to collection and delivery of mails. Nepal Post is still unable to accept outbound items to countries other than India, until such time as the passenger flights normally used to transport mail resume.
Seychelles
Start date: 22 June 2020
End date: 25 March 2021
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of the Seychelles, Seychelles Postal Services, asks us to inform that Seychelles International Airport has been operating as normal since 25 March 2021 and that airlines have resumed their passenger flight schedules to the Seychelles. Furthermore, other restrictive measures imposed in the Seychelles in view of COVID-19 are gradually being lifted.
As a result, Seychelles Postal Services has now resumed its operations as normal and the situation of force majeure is closed, with immediate effect.
Slovakia
Start date: 20 March 2021
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of Slovakia, Slovenská Pošta, would like to inform that, owing to the severity of the current situation in Slovakia with regard to COVID-19, the Slovakian Government has extended the state of emergency by a further 30 days, with effect from 29 April 2021. As of the same date, the curfew will be extended by one hour and will therefore apply from 21.00.
Slovenská Pošta will continue to provide postal services in line with public health measures and other restrictions, but with a reduced workforce. The processing and delivery of all types of inbound and outbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) will continue to be affected, and Slovenská Pošta is unable to guarantee compliance with the agreed standards.
The situation of force majeure previously notified is extended until further notice, and the restrictions announced previously will continue to apply.
Sri Lanka
Start date: 28 April 2021
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of Sri Lanka, the Department of Posts, wishes to inform that, owing to a worsening of the COVID-19 situation, new measures to prevent the spread of the virus have been implemented in Sri Lanka.
As a result, 50% of all government institutions, including Sri Lanka Post, immediately rolled back to work from home status until 31 May 2021. These new measures will continue to impact delivery standards for all categories of mail; the Department of Posts will not be able to guarantee the agreed standards.
However, all mail items sent to Sri Lanka will be processed and delivered in compliance with restrictions imposed by the government. The office of exchange and all other mail sorting centres are operating with a reduced work force. Most of the administrative functions will be carried out through telework, depending on the availability of resources.
International airports remain open to limited passenger/cargo flights, and outbound mail transport is still restricted to the limited number of destinations with available air carriers. The updated destination list is available at slpost.gov.lk/international-
Thailand
Start date: 17 March 2021
End date: ongoing
Incident: coronavirus
The designated operator of Thailand, Thailand Post, would like to inform that several cases of COVID-19 have recently been confirmed among the workforce of the Suvarnabhumi office of exchange (OE).
Therefore, in accordance with the measures and guidelines set out by the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the Suvarnabhumi OE will be closed from 26 April to 4 May 2021 for the cleaning and disinfection of all facilities and mail items. Consequently, delays are to be expected in the processing of all inbound and outbound international mail already accepted or received. The Suvarnabhumi OE is scheduled to resume its operations on 5 May 2021.
Furthermore, outbound international services (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) to all destinations will be suspended from 28 April to 4 May 2021.
Thailand Post is doing its utmost to ensure the smooth operation of international postal services and apologizes for any inconvenience caused.