US bans incoming parcels via passenger plane

The United states has banned passenger airlines from importing all parcels over 450 grams, after the discovery of two mail bombs sent to the states from Yemen.

The Cyprus post office confirmed the stoppage was in effect since yesterday, while early reports indicate the US government’s Transport Security Administration (TSA) directive will be in effect for 30 days, covering the peak Christmas mail rush.

The ban has already cost one Paphos based businessman hundreds of Euros in lost business. OST Cosmetics manager Neil Hart normally exports between five and ten packages to the US daily, each worth up to €200, but he has sent none since Tuesday.

TSA Secretary Janet Napolitano said on November 8: “Following the thwarted terrorist plot last week to conceal and ship explosive devices on board aircraft bound for the U.S., the (TSA) administration took a number of immediate steps to increase security by tightening existing measures related to cargo bound for the United States.”

Napolitano said this ban will also apply to certain inbound international air cargo shipments.

If your business exports packages to the US, please email [email protected] and tell us how you have been affected.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.