Prestwick Airport helps Royal Mail with festive post
Glasgow Prestwick Airports freight team are doing their bit to ensure the nations presents are under the tree on Christmas morning, handling tonnes of mail over the busy festive period.
Staff at the Ayrshire Airport work through the night to unload thousands of cards, letters and parcels flown from England onboard an extra dedicated aircraft. The mail is then separated onsite to match postcode areas, before being collected by a fleet of Royal Mail lorries and driven to the organisation’s mail centres.
Last week, the team also stepped in at short notice to receive two Boeing 737 jetliners were diverted from Edinburgh while the capital’s airport temporarily closed to ensure mail reached Scottish customers.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is supporting Royal Mail throughout December as it brought in an extra temporary flight to help process mail during the year’s busiest period, as part of the postal operator’s financial commitment to delivering Christmas.
The airport is a major hub for handling freight, managing hundreds of tonnes each month in its dedicated facility.
Jules Matteoni, operations director at Prestwick Airport said: “As Christmas approaches, postal volumes are at their highest levels, but our team is working with Royal Mail to swiftly unload the aircraft each night and efficiently sort the mail into postcode areas – resulting in vast time-savings for the overall operation.
“Our freight handling facilities are some of the most advanced in Scotland, with market leading capabilities to proficiently process shipments of almost any size – from envelopes to engines.
“The operation is performing really well, unpacking every arrival quickly and professionally, regardless of quantity. Last week, we accepted two large freighters at short notice, transferring their payload through our facility and onto the road within 90 minutes.
“With a further surge expected as the days count down to the 25th, we’re busy around the clock to assist Royal Mail in delivering Christmas.”
Julie Pirone, director of external relations at Royal Mail, said: “At our busiest peak period, we really value and appreciate the support given to us by Glasgow Prestwick Airport in helping us make sure letters, cards and parcels are delivered to our customers across Scotland by Christmas day.”