German mail service stops using domestic flights to transport letters after nearly 63 years

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s main national postal carrier has stopped using domestic flights to transport letters after nearly 63 years. The move reflects the declining significance of letter mail and allows it to improve its climate footprint. Deutsche Post said Thursday the last planes carrying letters between northern and southern Germany, operated by Lufthansa unit Eurowings and Tui Fly, flew overnight on the Stuttgart-Berlin, Hannover-Munich and Hannover-Stuttgart routes. It said letters between those destinations will now be transported by road, allowing the company to reduce transport-related carbon dioxide emissions on the routes by over 80%.