The U.S. Postal Service, like most other postal operators around the globe, use commercial airlines to transport mail internationally. Intercontinental long-haul passenger flights are down to a trickle because of global travel restrictions. This has resulted in an enormous loss of air cargo capacity. As travel restrictions begin to loosen, more flights will be added by European and U.S. airlines. Unfortunately, these improvements are minor and will not immediately or significantly resolve the problem. In some cases, mail is being moved via ocean freight to intermediate destinations for further disbursement.

This drastic reduction of commercial flights has reduced available cargo space for mail shipments not just internationally, but also domestically. Mail moving domestically within a region can get stuck again, until air cargo space becomes available on a short-haul flight to the next destination.

Since the vast majority of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border, most orders to Canada experience some delays but appear to arrive in a reasonably timely manner. There is less of a reliance on air transport to Canada, which makes shipments to most Canadian addresses more like domestic shipments. Heavy parcel volumes within Canada Post could contribute to some additional delays.

Mail to Mexico is more problematic. Since much of the Mexican population is concentrated further away from the U.S. border, air transport is more frequently relied upon. The Mexican postal service has warned that First Class International Shipments will not be tracked domestically and has issued advisories warning of general mail delays and post office closures.

Around the globe International Mail Services are experiencing disruptions due to the pandemic. Some areas are experiencing new disruptions, while others have some services that are resuming. 

The Postal Service regularly receives notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Click this link to view the latest Service Alerts and Updates provided by USPS.