Special delivery plane service dropped after trial

Guernsey Post plans to scrap its special delivery plane service after a three month trial showed it had "limited demand".

A trial of the Special Delivery by Air service was introduced in July following the withdrawal of the dedicated mail plane, to offer customers a guaranteed next day delivery option to the UK.

Guernsey Post said only 5% of its customers chose to use the service with most people opting for its newly introduced sea-based special delivery and tracked options.

Chief executive Steve Sheridan said customer demand had "not been sufficient to justify continuing the air based service beyond the trial period." The service will run until 2 October.

The majority of mail is delivered to the island via the sea freight network since the mail plane was withdrawn due to rising costs to Guernsey Post.

Guernsey Post had run the mail plane since 2025, following Royal Mail's decision to withdraw its own dedicated plane service.

The special delivery by air service was introduced to still offer the option of ensuring urgent, valuable or time-sensitive documents would be delivered the next day.

The postal service said a review of the trial showed most of their customers opted for its guaranteed two day special delivery by sea service, or tracked services which typically delivered within two to three days.

Sheridan said: "Following the withdrawal of the dedicated mail plane, we introduced this trial to assess demand for an air-based Special Delivery service alongside our new sea-based products.

"The trial showed limited demand for a premium air-based option, with only 5% of customers choosing the service."

Guernsey Post said next-day delivery services would remain available through DHL Express.

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