Last Minute Shippers Keep UPS Busy

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Planes were able to land once again at Will Rogers Airport after being blocked by heavy fog Thursday.

The delays and cancellations won't impact shipping on the busiest day of the year for the United Parcel Service.

UPS expected to move about 22 million packages Thursday. On a normal day, the company ships around 15 million.

Last-minute shoppers and shippers arrived at the UPS sites, two hours prior to closing, ensuring their packages would be delivered on time for Christmas day.

"Today was the last day to ship for ground shipments to be there by Christmas," UPS spokesperson Sara Everett said. "We've definitely seen an influx of ground packages today."

Other cities saw much of the same. Outside, the foggy weather proved to be a challenge, but didn't hamper delivery.

"Our drivers were definitely aware of the conditions and were doing what they could to make srue that they stayed safe," Everett said.

Dozens of workers came to assist in what is called Peak day, which is when the volume of packages doubles in sizes. Supervisors and managers reverted back to their old positions all in an effort to guarantee Christmas delivery.

And a number of shippers will be keeping tabs on those shipments online. UPS expected to process more than 42 million tracking requests Thursday.