SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1979
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HK IS A VITAL LINK IN WORLD POSTAL NETWORK
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HONG KONG IS A VITAL LINK IN THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL NETWORK AS REFLECTED BY THE HUGE VOLUME OF AIR MAIL HANDLED BY THE POST OFFICE.
OVER A QUARTER MILLION POSTAL ITEMS ARE PROCESSED DAILY AT THE POST OFFICE'S AIR MAIL CENTRE AT KAI TAK AIRPORT AND THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT THE AIRBORNE POSTAL TRAFFIC VIA HONG KONG IS STILL GROWING, IN PARTICULAR, MAIL ITEMS IN TRANSIT.
THE ASSISTANT CONTROLLER OF POSTS IN CHARGE OF THE AIR MAIL CENTRE, MR. LEE KIM-LEUNG SAID. THERE WAS A NINE PER CENT GROWTH IN OUTWARD AIR MAIL TRAFFIC FROM 55 MILLION ITEMS IN 1977/78 TO 60 MILLION LAST FINANCIAL YEAR AND THE TREND IS CONTINUING IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.+
+THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN THE WEIGHT OF TRANSIT MAIL HANDLED WHICH SHOWED A 40 PER CENT INCREASE IN 1978/79 COMPARED WITH THAT IN 1977/78,+ MR. LEE SAID.
TO COPE WITH THE INCREASING WORKLOAD, PLANS ARE IN HAND TO CONSTRUCT A NEW MECHANISED MAIL PROCESSING CENTRE AT THE AIRPORT.
AND TO MAKE ROOM FOR FUTURE EXPANSION, IT IS ALSO PROPOSED THAT THE AIR LETTER SECTION BE RESITED AT THE INTERNATIONAL MAIL CENTRE IN HUNG HOM DUE FOR COMPLETION NEXT YEAR.
AT PRESENT ALL OUTWARD-BOUND AIRBORNE POSTAL ITEMS ARE DELIVERED TO THE AIR MAIL CENTRE VIA THREE MAIN POST OFFICES - THE GPO, THE KOWLOON CENTRAL POST OFFICE AND TSIM SHA TSUI POST OFFICE.
ON RECEIVING THEM, POSTAL WORKERS AT THE CENTRE HAVE TO WORK AGAINST TIGHT DEADLINES TO PROCESS THE MAIL AND PUT IT ON THE FIRST AVAILABLE FLIGHT BOUND FOR A PARTICULAR DESTINATION.
+THE WORK INVOLVES DATE-STAMPING, SORTING, DOCUMENTATION AND FINALLY PUTTING THE ITEMS INTO MAIL BAGS, MR. LEE SAID.
+SOMETIMES THE WORK HAS TO BE COMPLETED IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES BECAUSE THE MAIL MUST BE HANDED OVER TO THE RESPECTIVE AIRLINES AN HOUR BEFORE THE SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME.
+AND IN THE CASE OF A FLIGHT CHANGE, WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS TO GET THE MAIL ON TO ANOTHER CARRIER TO AVOID OR MINIMISE ANY DELAY, HE SAID.
THERE IS A SEPARATE SECTION IN THE AIR MAIL CENTRE FOR HANDLING SPEEDPOST PACKAGES. THESE PACKAGES BYPASS THE NORMAL SORTING PROCESSES AND ARE GIVEN SPECIAL TREATMENT TO ENSURE THAT THEY RECEIVE THE BEST POSSIBLE SERVICE. FOR EXAMPLE, A SPEEDPOST ITEM POSTED IN HONG KONG ON A MONDAY CAN BE DELIVERED TO CENTRAL LONDON BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. +THIS SERVICE CALL FOR SPEEDY AND THOROUGH PROCESSING AT ALL STAGES RIGHT UP TO DELIVERY, MR. LEE SAID.
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