Royal Mail has issued a delivery disruption alert affecting 15 postcode areas across the United Kingdom, as delays continue to impact its network. The postal service has confirmed that several regions will not receive their mail on time as of Monday, May 11.
Affected Areas
The delays are impacting the following postcode districts: Alfreton (DE55), Brackley (NN12, NN13), Brierley Hill (DY5), Daventry (NN11), Erskine (PA7, PA8), Kidlington (OX5, OX20), Tweedale (TF3, TF4, TF7, TF8, TF12), and Wantage (OX12). Royal Mail cited local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing challenges, and other local factors as reasons for the temporary disruption.
Royal Mail stated: 'We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors. In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive. We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.'
Network Performance
Over the past 24 hours, Royal Mail's air and road network has operated according to schedule. However, not all mail was processed and dispatched on time over the weekend from the Truro Mail Centre. The firm explained: 'Some mail posted in the TR postcode area on Friday for delivery to other parts of the UK on Saturday' experienced delays.
Targets and Fines
The delays come as Royal Mail works to meet its letter delivery targets by May 2027 as part of a £500 million turnaround plan. The company has faced criticism over late deliveries and was fined £21 million by Ofcom in October for missing targets, delivering only 77% of First Class post and 92.5% of Second Class post on time in 2024-25.
Last month, Ofcom lowered delivery targets: First Class post must now be delivered the next day from 93% to 90%, and Second Class within three days from 98.5% to 95%. To meet these targets, Royal Mail plans to axe Saturday Second Class deliveries and move to alternate weekdays—three days one week, two days the next.
Royal Mail has committed to improving First Class Next Day delivery to around 85% within nine months, reaching the 90% target within a year. It also aims to deliver 93% of Second Class letters within three days over nine months, hitting the 95% target by May next year.
