Post, including letters and parcels sent via Royal Mail, may take longer to arrive based on several factors, one of which is the 'class' of postage.

First-class letters are delivered one day after they're dispatched, and second-class letters are delivered two days after.

Royal Mail delivers from Monday to Saturday but sometimes experiences delays due to local factors affecting delivery offices or disruptions to its air, road, rail, or mail centre networks.

On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Royal Mail reported significant disruption to mail centres affecting four UK regions.

The postal service said that mail centres in Gatwick, London Central, Manchester, Preston, and the South Midlands reported that not all mail was processed or despatched to schedule over the past weekend. It warned: "As a result, some mail may be delivered later than planned".

Affected postcode areas

Gatwick, BN and RH

Some mail posted in the BN and RH postcode areas due for delivery today in other parts of the UK may arrive later than planned.

London Central, EC, N, W1 and WC

Some mail posted in the EC, N, W1 and WC postcode areas due for delivery today in other parts of the UK may arrive later than planned.  

Manchester, BL, M 0L and SK

Some mail posted in the BL, M, OL and SK postcode areas due for delivery today in other parts of the UK may arrive later than planned.

Preston, BB, FY, LA and PR

Some mail posted in the BB, FY, LA and PR  postcode areas due for delivery today in other parts of the UK may arrive later than planned.

South Midland, CV, LE, MK and NN

Some mail posted in other parts of the UK, due for delivery today in the CV, LE, MK and NN postcode areas may arrive later than planned. 

Local issues have also disrupted almost a dozen Royal Mail delivery offices across the UK. 

The postal service noted that while it aims to deliver to all addresses, it has mail for six days a week; this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high sick absence levels, resourcing, or other local factors.

When this occurs, Royal Mail rotates deliveries to minimise individual customer delays. It claimed: "We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive."

Nine regions, including Gospot, Thornbury, East Dulwich, and Bristol East, are currently listed as the "most impacted" by disruption to local delivery offices.