backlog of post.

A massive hold-up of Bermuda-bound mail in the US, due to difficulties with the US Postal Service and airlines serving the Island, meant some letters were arriving up to a month late.

Bermuda Post Service officials laid the blame at the door of the airlines, who they said were holding the country to ransom and giving mail a low priority.

Yesterday, Postmaster General Clevelyn Crichlow said the stockpile of post was almost cleared and staff were about to tackle items that had arrived in sea containers.

"I am not aware of any backlog right now,'' he said. "We are pretty much taken care of.'' But Mr. Crichlow said although they were over the worst of what has become an annual problem, it had been one of the poorest years for mail delays.

"It has taken us a month, which is longer than normal. Last year it took us ten to 12 days, but it has taken us a whole month,'' he said. "That is very unusual.'' The situation arose at Christmas when several containers of Bermuda-bound mail were discovered sitting at Newark Airport.

The US Postal Service had delivered the post to the depot but it is up to the airlines, who run smaller capacity planes during the winter, to carry the post to Bermuda.

Delays got so bad -- some Express Mail which takes three days was taking weeks -- that post was shipped via British Airways to London and then back to Bermuda. And other mail was shipped via sea to ensure it arrived on the Island.

Post Service staff have worked to clear the undelivered mail and Mr. Crichlow has voiced his anger to the Americans, but he doesn't expect the issue to be solved. "I wrote and told them I was tired of the same thing happening,'' he said. "And I said the plans that we have to ensure mail gets here over the festive period never seem to materialise, that is because the airlines here are not accountable.''