Correos delays 200k China parcels at Barajas, hikes rates

200,000 Chinese shipments stuck at Barajas as Correos raises rates by 60%

A keychain with a laser pointer, an Arduino Nano, fishing rods. Purchases of just a few euros made on Chinese stores that have been in transit for months now share the same limbo: a pile of packages stacked outdoors on the apron of Barajas airport. The figure that sizes up this jam was reported by national media: postal shipments accumulated at the Madrid hub exceed 200,000, most coming from China.

While that mountain waits, Correos has announced another rate hike. The official argument is to align with the rest of the EU. The contradiction is obvious. Staff salaries have not aligned with European levels. And with fuel prices falling and prices in deflation, economic logic pointed in the opposite direction: lower rates, not higher ones.

Raising prices by 60% while costs fall

One specific case highlights the increase starkly. Returning a package to a European online store cost between 6 and 7 euros. Since January 1st, the same process costs 11 euros. A 60% jump in one go. An anecdote shared by a customer who sarcastically asked at the post office if we weren't in deflation. The answer received was off-topic: that the employee was a contractor, not a civil servant.

Why are Chinese packages piling up at Barajas?

The accumulation coincides with a rate hike that, according to some analysis, aims to make postal shipping more expensive and thereby curb Chinese imports. The circulating thesis is uncomfortable: Correos might be protecting Spanish companies by leaving international mail exposed to the elements for months. Others point to a less conspiratorial and more prosaic cause: there is significantly less staff than before, and the volume overwhelms those sorting it. And there are those who simply received their orders without issue and urge patience: two months isn't so long.

Where is the bottleneck: Correos or Customs?

Here the common narrative breaks down. Those accusing Correos of deliberately holding back orders are looking at the wrong window. A threshold separates fiction from reality: anything bulky and worth more than 20 euros gets stopped. Cases contradict each other surprisingly often. Some claim 90% of European shipments are held, yet none from China pass through customs. Others saw a £124 Amazon.uk order incur €24 in customs charges. Geography dictates: from the Canary Islands, many online purchases go through customs due to their different tax regime.

The hell of exporting: DUA forms and eight-day stamps

For individual buyers, the problem is the wait. For businesses selling online, it’s ruinous. Exports outside the EU first require processing the DUA (Single Administrative Document) at Correos, then customs controls, which can leave a package detained for eight days—if lucky—until someone stamps it. Meanwhile, the system doesn’t update status, and the buyer who paid for express shipping sees the order arrive two weeks later, venting frustration at the Spanish seller. With this workflow, it is argued, Correos kills any chance for Spain to develop competitive e-commerce businesses.

Chinese warehouses in Spain as the solution

The market has found its own workaround, bypassing Correos. Several Chinese firms are opening warehouses in Spain: a tablet costing €100 in China and taking two months to arrive costs €110 from a Spanish warehouse and arrives in three days, without customs surprises. For domestic shipping, platforms like Geni or Packlink offer better rates from home. The conclusion drawn is hardly patriotic: trying to beat Asian commerce on logistics is a waste of time.

The other side: packages that do arrive

As weeks pass, the tone shifts. Orders from early in the month start appearing, sometimes arriving in batches, three out of four on the same day. Lithium batteries face increasing restrictions for air travel, explaining why certain packages are diverted via land routes, adding delays. There are cases of waits exceeding two months leading to open disputes with sellers, including refunds for purchases under one euro. Patience, say some. Others have learned that the package appears when you stop checking the tracker.

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In September 2013, Correos received the Certificate of Excellence for managing its International Processing Center at Barajas, stating international mail processing met "the highest quality standards." A year and a half later, that same center is the apron where 200,000 packages wait for someone to get moving.