You’re expecting a package from AliExpress and have received a “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” tracking alert.
What does this mean exactly? Where is your shipment when you receive this update and what happens if it gets stuck?
Let’s take a look…
Summary: Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country
The “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” status alert is used by 4PX to inform parties that the shipment has in fact left the country of origin. At this point, the package has cleared customs, been loaded onto a plane, and departed toward the destination country.
Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country – Guide
Essentially, the “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” alert is a good one to receive. Your package is leaving the country of origin after all.
Also, as 4PX is a widely used carrier by AliExpress sellers for standard delivery shipments, you may have already been waiting several weeks to receive an update such as this.
It should come as a relief that customs has been cleared and that your shipment is on the plane.
- Related Content: “Package Cleared by Foreign Customs Office” Meaning?
How Far Away is Your Package After a “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” Alert?
You shouldn’t get too excited about an imminent delivery yet though. Unfortunately, your package could still very well be weeks away after you receive this update.
Firstly, the plane your package is on might not be flying direct to the destination country. If an intermediate transit country forms part of the route, you will have delays there as the shipment changes planes.
Then, upon arrival in the destination country there will be customs, (with potential delays), and the fact the package could end up in a warehouse while it awaits dispatch towards the delivery address.
With well-known backlogs in international import hubs such as New York ISC and Liege linehaul causing delays to AliExpress shipments arriving into the U.S and Europe respectively, long wait times for delivery are almost inevitable.
- Related Content: What Does “Despatched to Overseas” Mean? (AliExpress)
Tracking Stuck on “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country”
A very important point to note is that the “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” alert is often the last update you will receive from 4PX.
This is because the carrier often works with other international carriers to ship AliExpress orders. It is used by sellers to fulfill delivery from the seller warehouse (or AliExpress fulfillment center) to the line haul operator responsible for transit overseas.
At the point of the “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” alert, the package is clearly with the line haul operator. 4PX is no longer conducting any scans and the shipment is not under the carrier’s control.
This can cause problems for customers trying to track their items. Yes, the 4PX tracking page may show the updates as created by the new carrier. However, in situations where it doesn’t, your tracking will be seemingly stuck.
- Related Content: What Does the “4PX Picked up Shipment” Status Alert Mean?
So, what’s the solution?
First and foremost, expectations have to be contained. If yours is a standard delivery AliExpress order, (with a delivery window between 15 and 45 working days), you have to be prepared for a long wait.
This also means that long gaps between tracking updates and extremely common.
However, if you suspect that the package is moving but alerts are not getting through to you, you can always check your tracking details with a universal tracking app.
I recommend 17Track and Parcelsapp. These free services will check the databases of hundreds of carriers to see if there are any fresh alerts.
- Related Content: 4PX Hand Over to Airline – Tracking Guide
Similar Updates to “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country”
Notifications of the fact a package has left the origin country are the basis for alerts by a wide range of carriers. It is an important progression to report after all.
Competing carriers use updates such as, “Departed Country of Origin“, and “Departed from AIRPORT of Origin” to signify this step in the shipment journey.
What Happens After “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country”
The alerts you receive after this update will depend on the carrier. That being said, “Arrived at Destination Hub”, “The Consignment has Arrived in the Country of Destination” and “Awaiting Presentation to Customs” are all common updates once an AliExpress shipment arrives in the country of the recipient.
The majority of these inform you that the package is moving as it should.
Final Words
The “Shipment Departed from Airport of Origin Country” alert means your package has left the origin country, and this is good news.
However, there is still a long way to go and with it being an AliExpress shipment, you are destined to wait several weeks more.
Scarcity of updates is common, so patience is key.
- Related Content: Departed From Export Office – EMS Tracking Guide
I’m a 25 year veteran of USPS. I’m retired now, but as the editor of Mailbox Master, I can’t quite remove myself from the carrier industry just yet. 🙂