Airmail Slow Down In The World Wide Post?

I've noticed lately random letters marked airmail to anywhere in the world seem to be taking 6 weeks plus to get to destination. When others get there quick in a few days. Has customs started holding items even longer? I just had one standard airmail letter take 8 weeks to reach Hong Kong. A postcard sent in an airmail envelope took 10 weeks to reach England. Envelopes clearly marked Airmail. I just wondered if anyone else is noticing these delays. There used to be up to 5 weeks delay if held in customs it now seems even longer. Wonder why? Its confusing buyers who buy multiple times when everything arrives but one lot doesn't. Then they get it two months down the track. Its out of sellers hands.

That's not happening here in the United States. I marked all my international mail Airmail and buyers are receiving their mail in two weeks or many cases much less - usually just 3-4 days to get to Europe.

maybe its Oz post then. Just seems weird why the odd ones taking much longer than usual when clearly marked airmail. Sure some still get there fast but random ones up to 8 weeks or more.

Hi Duncan

We did an interesting experiment with mailing from us here in the Brisbane area.

A domestic & Air Mail letter was send via over the counter postmark and the same also but placed inside a big red postbox in front of the PO with obviously no cancel.

The over the counter letters got to Sydney next day and the international letter 1 week to the UK.

The letters sent in the post box took 2 weeks to Sydney and 4 weeks to UK.

Sure the testing sample is very small but interesting.

Further investigation reveals that all our mail goes to a large mail sorting center at Woodridge which is just south of Brisbane and is the major parcel processing center for S/E QLD. At this location all cancel mail gets put through their sorting machine that does not have the ability to cancel letters.

All other uncanceled mail goes into bags and left till there is enough mail bags for a large truck to transport them to Caboolture which is the major mail exchange for all letters to be sorted and canceled. This location is north of Brisbane. Again it takes some time to get the bag to the sorting machine depending on how much mail they get at any given time.And again the bags often get held up for extended periods before being processed.