Delivery companies turn to trucks as planes grounded by volcanic ash

Major delivery service operators in the UK and EU have turned to trucks to minimise their delivery delays and limit the impact of air traffic disruption.

Items such as express mail, documents and packages, normally shipped within Europe by air are currently being transported by road instead. This means there will be delays of at least one day or so.

Delivery companies like TNT are relying on trucks to limit delivery delays

It has also been reported that trucks are now being used to deliver packages on long distance routes such as Belgium to Italy and Russia.

However, international cargo will not move until restrictions are lifted as most airports are currently closed. It was estimated that the flight disruptions might have grounded about half of the daily 11,000 ton cargo volumes between Asia and Europe.

Spokesmen for TNT, UPS and FedEx all said that their companies are working hard to make sure planes are loaded and ready to leave once the flight restriction is lifted.