Worldwide Parcel Delivery Firms Show Resilience In Recovering From Ash Cloud Disruption

Recovery was quick after the worldwide shipping sector experienced severe disruption as a result of the Icelandic ash cloud

. A week after all flights across northern Europe were paralysed by the unprecedented event, traffic got back to its normal levels of between 28,000 and 29,000 flights a day, according to Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.

The skies over large parts of the continent were empty for five days after Eurocontrol alerted its member nations to the dust cloud, and they immediately decided to ground flights.

This led to many large courier companies putting contingency plans in place to allow some international parcel traffic to continue to flow. TNT switched all its collections and deliveries to road, at a huge cost, in an effort to move mail and parcels caught up in the backlog in sorting offices.

Meanwhile, when DHLs European hub at Leipzig airport was closed by the poor flying conditions, it set up an ad-hoc, decentralised network, using other mainland European hubs. In doing so, it said it had been able to maintain a next-day delivery service from the UK to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and north-west Germany. Swiss Post, however, admitted that the transfer of large volumes of parcels and mail from air to road had led to extensive delays in worldwide parcel deliveries.

Both UPS and FedEx transferred parts of their operations to airports in southern Europe which were not affected by the flights ban, then sent items onward to their usual destinations by road. This has caused delays of up to three days, UPS admitted. Meanwhile, FedEx again switched large volumes of traffic from air to road and warned customers to expect delays. At the same time, it geared itself towards a quick resumption of normal services as soon as the go-ahead was given.

The week-long dislocation of services tested delivery companies ability to adapt to changing situations which were beyond their control. But the strategic thinking which the companies adopted showed the degrees to which worldwide shipping businesses will go in order to keep services to their customers flowing.

by: Kevin Longworth

POST COMMENT

Proper Labelling To Ensure Your Parcel Gets To Where It Needs To Go Ongoing urbanisation in Sweden sees the need for quick parcel delivery Ancient civilisation enjoys modern parcel delivery Don't miss out on the ideal gift – send it from anywhere with international parcel delivery Parcel Delivery: An Unnoticed Yet Important Part Of Supply Chain Find A Simple Way To Get Your Parcels Shipped Sending An International Parcel, A Step By Step Guide Make The Most Of Parcel Delivery Options 3 Key Reasons To Use A Courier For Your Next Parcel Delivery A Well Wrapped Parcel Is A Safe Bet Sydney Couriers Taking Parcels to a Historical City Make sure that your parcel is on the right track! Sending a parcel to Athens is no Olympian task with a trusted courier company