BERLIN (AP) – Germany's main state-run postal operator on Thursday stopped transporting letters on domestic flights for the first time in nearly 63 years. This is a measure that reflects the declining importance of letters and makes it possible to improve their climate impact.
According to Deutsche Post, the last planes operated by Lufthansa's Eurowings and TUI Fly carrying letters between northern and southern Germany will be in Stuttgart-Berlin, Hannover-Munich and Hannover-Stuttgart. The plane reportedly flew the route overnight.
The company said letters between these destinations will now be transported by road, reducing transport-related carbon emissions on the route by more than 80%.
“In the era of climate change, it can no longer be justified to send letters within Germany by airmail, and also because letters no longer have the urgency they had in previous decades,” says parent company DHL Group. Mark Hitchfeld, Chief Operating Officer of Germany's German subsidiary, said: The Post and Parcel Department said in a statement:
A bill approved by Germany's cabinet in December still needs parliamentary approval, but it is expected to reduce pressure on Deutsche Post to deliver letters quickly and reduce costs.
Currently, the Postal Service expects at least 80% of letters to be delivered the next business day after they are posted. Planned new rules would require 95% delivery within three business days.
Germany's domestic post service began in September 1961. The amount of mail carried by air and the number of destinations to which it is delivered has decreased significantly since the mid-1990s.
