USPS Suspends Package Services to Hong Kong Due to COVID-19 Outbreak – Update 2/4/2022
Note: On February 4, 2022, USPS issued an update stating it has resumed acceptance of all mail to Hong Kong. This service suspension is no longer in effect.
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USPS has suspended international mail services to Hong Kong due to Covid-19 transportation cancellations and restrictions until further notice, effective January 14, 2022.
With the Delta and Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus continuing to spread globally, some countries are experiencing a new wave of infections causing governments to reimpose restrictions impacting package, mail, and postal operations.
The US Postal Service constantly monitors mail services globally and evaluates parcel volume as well as transport capacity to adjust its service standards and availability.
USPS has suspended the following mail services to Hong Kong until further notice due to widespread flight cancellations and restrictions in the area causing significant air cargo capacity availability issues.
- Priority Mail Express International (PMEI)
- Priority Mail International (PMI)
- First-Class Mail International (FCMI)
- First-Class Package International Service (FCPIS)
- International Priority Airmail (IPA) Packets
- International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) Packets
- Airmail M-bags
The Postal Service advises that International Service Center (ISC) employees will endorse the items as “Mail Service Suspended —Return to Sender” and then place them in the mail stream for return.
In addition, US Postal Service retail locations will not accept affected mail services. If shippers deposit packages in a mailbox, drop off packages at retail locations that have collection areas for parcels, or if they are picked up by a postal carrier, USPS will return the item to the shipper.
Returns may take a few days and tracking may become erratic when this happens.
The Postal Service did not include USPS Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) shipments in its service alert. Please check our USPS status of international services page for more Postal Service interruptions worldwide.
USPS Industry Alert for Hong Kong
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Richard Meldner
Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.
To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.