Parcel deliveries between Estonia, UK suspended until new year
A flight ban between the United Kingdom and Estonia has also affected parcel deliveries, which have halted until the new year.
Marita Mägi, manager of the international parcels department at state-owned operator Omniva says that the next date parcels from Estonia can reach the U.K. is January 4, with only those parcels which have already left U.K. territory to reach Estonia in the normal way.
The foreign ministry imposed a flight ban between the two countries Sunday night following the discovery of a particularly potent, and rapidly-spreading strain of the coronavirus there.
Estonia acted in concert with Latvia and Lithuania in its decision, and was joined by several other European countries. By Monday evening all 27 EU member states had imposed a ban, including for freight transit in the case of France.
The news comes just as the U.K.'s transition period ahead of full exit from the EU draws to a close, which it does on December 31, meaning new customs regulations apply to those parcels arriving after that date. Since parcel delivery has already been suspended, this means in effect only those packages already in the mail, literally, will follow the pre-EU withdrawal rules for the U.K.
Parcel delivery to Canada has also been halted, Omniva says, due to high volumes and small numbers of flights available, with services not restored until January 9.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte