UPU News : Mail for Syria can get through via Amman

25.01.2013 - The Syrian Post has asked the Universal Postal Union to inform all member countries to route international mail destined for Syria via Amman, the Jordanian capital.

 Syrian Post received 1.6 million letters and 30,000 express items and parcels from abroad in 2011

The Syrian Post will use trucks to retrieve mails that arrive in Amman, some 175 kilometers from Damascus, and bring it back for processing and delivery. Outgoing international mail from Syria already transits through Amman.

The United Nations specialized agency for postal services welcomed the arrangement by the Syrian and Jordanian postal authorities and handling services at Amman International Airport to ensure that mail gets through despite the ongoing situation.

“This measure will make sending international mail to Syria more fluid and regular,” said Abdellatif Meskine, manager of the Arab programme at the UPU.

This will provide relief to countries that were finding it difficult to send international mail directly to Syria as a result of the suspension of many flights to Damascus, he added.

A message sent yesterday by the UPU to all its member countries says that it is now possible to route dispatches destined for Syria via Amman Airport, “in cases where a lack of suitable flights makes air transport impossible.”

In 2011, Syria received 1.6 million international letter-post items a year from abroad, as well as 53,000 registered items, 22,000 express mail items and 8,500 parcels, according to UPU figures.

Information on 2012 mail volumes is not yet available. According to Syrian postal authorities, postal services continue to be provided nationally.

The Syrian Post manages some 600 post offices and employs more than 3,000 employees. 

Source :  http://news.upu.int