Prodromou post office extends opening hours due to backlog

Cyprus Post has announced extended opening hours for its Nicosia district office on Prodromou Street due to the accumulation of large volume of parcels.

The office will open normally at 8am but will close at 4pm instead of 2.30pm during weekdays.

The post office will also operate on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm, the announcement added.

During the extended hours, the public will only be able to pick up parcels.

The announcement came following complaints from the public over waiting times of up to two hours.

Videos and pictures published online recently have shown long queues of people outside the building.

According to the deputy director Pavlos Pavlides, the accumulation of parcels was caused mainly because of Brexit.

“Since England is no longer a European union member state, packages from the UK must undergo a customs check,” Pavlides said.

Hence, parcels are no longer distributed to the other different post offices but remain in Prodromou.

“We also recently sent reminders for any parcels that were not picked up so we could empty our shelves,” the deputy director added.

Some people who visited the post office on Monday said they were asked to leave after more than an hour of standing in line, as the post office was closing.

Postal services have been under hiring freeze since the 2013 financial crisis despite the management having submitted a request to fill more than 30 empty positions since 2019.

Meanwhile, a counter automation project to smooth the services’ operations and reduce bureaucracy was launched at a pilot base this month.