AliExpress tracking status

“Arrived at linehaul office” on an AliExpress order: what it means

The short answer

Normal

Your package has landed in the destination country, or at a stop on the way, and waits for import customs. Cainiao's page and tracking apps show the same step as 'Arrived at linehaul office'.

When to act: If no customs line follows within 7 days, file a complaint and we send it to AliExpress.

Also shown as: “Arrived at linehaul office”

What to do now

Note the date of this line and the delivery window at the top of the tracking page.
If you also follow the number on Cainiao's page or a tracking app, expect 'Arrived at linehaul office' there for the same step.
Look through your email and text messages for a customs or tax request, and check that it names your tracking number before you pay anything.
If the tracking number changes, keep both numbers.
Keep screenshots of the tracking page with the dates.
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to AliExpress, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

Start my complaint

What does “Your package arrived at local airport” mean?

This is AliExpress's own line for the arrival of the flight, usually under the stage 'In transit'. Cainiao records the same moment as 'Arrived at linehaul office', and one tracking app added the carrier note 'Arrived at Destinated Airport'. In a history a customer shared from both pages, AliExpress's 'Your package arrived at local airport' and Cainiao's 'Arrived at linehaul office' were logged at the same moment. In the AliExpress app screenshots customers shared, the step reads 'Your package arrived at local airport'; 'Arrived at linehaul office' shows on Cainiao's page and in tracking apps. Neither company defines its line.

The line does not always mean your own country. One customer saw 'left transit country' after it, and another found the email saying the package was in their country while the website showed a transit country. In two histories, the line 'Your package's tracking number was changed by carrier company.' came about half an hour after this one, before customs.

Why does AliExpress show it?

The flight from the origin country has landed
A stop in a transit country, on some routes
A wait for import customs to start
A customs backlog, which customers report as days on this line

How long does it last?

The next lines should be 'Import customs clearance started' and 'Import customs clearance completed', then 'Package arrived at regional carrier facility'. In histories customers shared, customs finished the same day once and the next day twice. Customers also report 4, 6 and 8 days on 'Arrived at linehaul office', and one about three weeks.

Other AliExpress statuses

Package leaving origin country/regionNormal
Collected by destination carrierNormal
Package arrived at regional carrier facilityNormal
Awaiting deliveryNormal
Package out for deliveryNormal
Your package is being inspected by customsKeep an eye on it
Delivered but not receivedTake action

All AliExpress statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing package from AliExpress?

If you bought on AliExpress, AliExpress's own rules decide refunds, whichever seller you bought from. Its Buyer Protection page covers an item that did not arrive, or was lost in transit, within the guaranteed delivery window on your order page, and an item that does not match its description or arrived damaged, within 15 days of receiving it. Many orders also show a refund date on the tracking page for a package that has not been delivered by then. For a UK order from a seller who is a trader, the Consumer Rights Act, section 29, keeps the goods at the seller's risk until you have them.

If you sent a parcel yourself, AliExpress was not your carrier: it is a marketplace, not a delivery service you book, so the carrier you chose and its terms apply. A return you send back through AliExpress's own return process falls under its return rules, and its Buyer Protection page says the refund follows once the returned items have been checked at the warehouse.

Questions about “Your package arrived at local airport”

What does arrived at linehaul office mean on AliExpress?

It is Cainiao's wording for the step AliExpress shows as 'Your package arrived at local airport': the flight has landed and the package waits for import customs. It is not a local post office.

How long does an AliExpress package stay at the linehaul office?

Neither company gives a figure. In histories customers shared, customs started the same day or the next. Customers also report 4 to 8 days, and one about three weeks. After 7 days with no customs line, file a complaint and we send it to AliExpress.

Does arrived at local airport mean my AliExpress package is in my country?

Usually, but not always. One customer saw 'left transit country' after it, so on some routes it marks a stop on the way.

Why did my AliExpress tracking number change?

AliExpress does not explain the line 'Your package's tracking number was changed by carrier company.' In two histories customers shared, it came about half an hour after the local airport line, before customs. Keep both numbers.

Based on

Reddit r/Aliexpress: the same package on AliExpress ('Your package arrived at local airport') and on a tracking app ('Arrived at linehaul office')
Reddit r/Aliexpress: a tracking page with the local airport line and a changed tracking number, in Canada
Reddit r/Aliexpress: a US tracking page from the local airport line to customs the next day
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Your package's tracking number was changed by carrier company.' after the local airport line, under 'In transit'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: six days on 'Arrived at linehaul office, Carrier note: Arrived at Destinated Airport'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: eight days on 'Arrived at linehaul office' on Cainiao's page
Reddit r/Aliexpress: four days at the linehaul office
Reddit r/Aliexpress: about three weeks at the linehaul office
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'left transit country' after 'arrived at local airport'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: the email says in your country, the website says transit country
AliExpress: Buyer Protection (an item that did not arrive within the guaranteed delivery window, 15 days for an item not as described, returns)
AliExpress.com Terms of Use (an e-commerce marketplace; AliExpress is an Alibaba Group trademark)
legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)
Reddit r/Aliexpress: a US tracking page with a refund date for no delivery