UPS express shipments from the UK to other parts of Europe are still experiencing delays ofaround 24 hours, almost two weeks after the Department for Transport closed down some of the
operator’s security screening facilities in the UK due to non-compliance with national aviationsecurity regulations.Sources at the company told CEP-Research that delivery schedules for shipments from the UK tomost destinations in the US were now back to normal, although there were still delays for shipmentsto the New York and New Jersey areas. Shipments to most mainland European destinations are stillgoing by road, rather than by air.
Inbound and domestic UK shipments are understood to be back to normal, although it was unclearto what extent outbound shipments to other parts of the world were still being affected.
Official channels at UPS were unable to provide any updates on service levels at the time ofwriting, or the contingency plans it had put in place, despite more than 24 hours notice, althougha UPS spokesman insisted that customers were being kept informed.
CEP-Research understands that the closures were imposed on UPS almost two weeks ago by the UKgovernment’s Department for Transport (DfT), following a review of UPS’s security procedures andprocesses by DfT inspectors. The inspections identified security violations, resulting in itrestricting the number of sites in the UK at which UPS is permitted to screen air cargo, until UPShas satisfied the UK’s current security requirements – including at its main UK air hub EastMidlands Airport.
UPS and other air cargo operators have been under particularly close scrutiny by aviationsecurity authorities since last October, when a viable explosive device shipped from Yemen wasfound hidden in a printer-toner cartridge within the UPS air express system at East MidlandsAirport (EMA). It had been flown, undetected, from Dubai to EMA on a UPS freighter, and waseventually found after a tip-off from security services. A similar device was also found within theFedEx system in Dubai.
UPS said it was unable to discuss the nature of the security violations, but confirmed that somefacilities had been temporarily taken offline, leading to delays in the movement of somepackages.
CEP-Research understands that the security violations included a failure to conduct theappropriate background checks on some staff to the levels required by UK regulations.
