ash plume from icelandic volcano

Mail delayed due to volcanic eruption sounds pretty major! The physical evidence of this Icelandic event might not be that dramatic here in the UK, but for the people & creatures of Iceland, the disruption could be intense, with evacuations, flash flooding, ash showers…

Here in the UK, we’re told that there’s a cloud of fine volcanic ash covering us at high altitude. We can’t see it from ground level, but we should get prettier sunrises & sunsets. Oh, and all planes have been grounded in UK airspace. So, if we’re sending you a product via airmail, there may be some delays.

The lowdown:
An Icelandic volcano, dormant for nearly 200 years has erupted for the second time in a month. The eruption is about 120 km (75 miles) east of the capital, Reykjavik. The last eruption in this area (Eyjafallajoekull) occurred in 1821.

The volcano is still spewing ash and the wind direction is expected to continue bringing ash clouds into UK and European airspace for some time to come. It appears there is a danger to the engines of planes that fly through this hard-to-spot debris.

Eruptions have previously continued intermittently for over two years, although if the wind direction changes, so will the disruption to the UK.

Royal Mail’s advice and latest updates can be found online here. Rumour has it they are working on contingency plans in case of long term disruption to Airmail. Although hopefully, this will last no longer than several days. Most domestic mail within the UK & Ireland should be unaffected, apart from Royal Mail Special Delivery which usually can travel by domestic air.

Unfortunately, we can’t say when things will definitely get back to normal for posting goods to our overseas customers. Surface mail can always be arranged, but can take 6 – 8 weeks to arrive. Do feel free to email us for more information.

graphic screenprint of icelandic volcano & ash plume on a badge over the UK, by Loglike.

Incidentally, our pigeon t-shirt design already includes the sea areas around the British Isles & SE Iceland. It usually comes with a matching badge which adds ‘North Utsire’ to the shipping forecast. Think we might try and come up with an extra volcano badge to really give the pigeon something to think about!
steve

UPDATE (21st April 2010)
Airspace over Britain opened late last night, so hopefully Airmail will start getting to and from the UK, although probably with some delays. (Also, we made the volcano badge!

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