Air cargo clearance in the Maldives has become considerably faster for general and perishable goods, but the country’s growing appetite for online shopping is placing increasing strain on courier operations at Velana International Airport.
The Maldives Time Release Study 2025 found that the average clearance time for general and perishable air cargo, excluding courier shipments, fell to one day, 10 hours and 48 minutes. This represents a 30 per cent improvement from the previous study and points to greater efficiency in the processing of conventional air freight.
However, these gains are being diluted by delays affecting courier cargo. Once courier shipments are included, the overall average clearance time for air cargo imports rises to two days, nine hours and 17 minutes.
Courier shipments alone took an average of four days, 15 hours and 18 minutes to clear. A quarter of consignments were processed within two days, 23 hours and 58 minutes, while the median shipment took four days, six hours and 32 minutes. Three-quarters were cleared within six days, seven hours and 20 minutes.
The study links the longer processing times partly to the rapid expansion of e-commerce and small-parcel volumes. Online purchases, once a relatively limited part of the country’s import system, have become a routine feature of consumer spending and a growing channel for local entrepreneurs sourcing products and supplies.
The rise in parcel traffic has moved faster than the physical infrastructure available to receive, sort, inspect and release courier shipments at the airport. Existing cargo facilities are handling a type and volume of trade that they were not designed to accommodate at the current scale.
Delays also occur before the formal clearance process begins. Courier operators or consignees submitted goods declarations an average of three days and 13 hours after flight arrival, according to the study. Incomplete documentation, communication difficulties with recipients and approvals required from other regulatory agencies can extend the process further.
For everyday shoppers, these bottlenecks mean that parcels can remain at the airport for several days after reaching the Maldives. For online sellers and small businesses, slower clearance can disrupt inventory planning, delay customer orders and increase uncertainty over delivery schedules.
The study recommends the development of an integrated, separate terminal for e-commerce cargo, equipped with modern scanning and automated sorting capacity. Such a facility would allow courier parcels to be processed through infrastructure designed for high-volume, small-package trade rather than competing for space within the existing air cargo system.
With online purchasing continuing to reshape how Maldivians access goods, the proposed terminal is becoming an urgent logistics requirement. Without additional capacity, rising parcel volumes risk eroding the wider improvements already achieved in air cargo clearance.
