Urgent Air Freight to Middle East: Small Forwarders Take Too Long, DL Delivers to Customer Warehouse in 3 Days
Ali had a batch of medical equipment that needed urgent air freight to UAE. The total volume was over ten cubic meters, and local medical institutions had been waiting anxiously. Ali was in a rush, but several freight forwarders he contacted couldn't match suitable flight space in a short time.
After reviewing the list, I told Ali that for such cargo, using small forwarders wasn't suitable. Small forwarders are usually second or third-tier agents; they accept the order first and then look for matching flight space in the market. Ali hadn't found a primary major consolidator, so it was difficult to get a suitable solution quickly. For this kind of cargo, you must go directly to a major consolidator. Major consolidators ship large volumes, and the larger the volume, the lower the cost per unit. For example, we block-book 20 pallets weekly from two major airlines—that's ten times the volume of others. Only forwarders like us can match suitable space in a short time.
However, information gaps always exist. Whether large or small, all forwarders advertise on various platforms with bold claims, making everyone look impressive. You can't tell who's genuine just from ads. That's why I always tell clients not to take anyone's promises at face value. They should visit the companies themselves, see their actual scale, and assess if they have the real capability. Would you believe a small forwarder with just a few staff operating from a city village, claiming to have strong cooperation with UAE customs and priority channels? We are a large forwarder with hundreds of employees and solid strength, and we actively invite clients to visit. Only by seeing for themselves can clients distinguish who truly has the real capabilities.
Because we block-book these pallets ourselves, we decide whose cargo gets loaded. Urgent shipments get priority, so I promptly helped Ali secure space on the next day's flight. This was something Ali had struggled to find for days with other forwarders, but for us, it was routine. I then arranged a dedicated truck for point-to-point pickup. The cargo arrived at our consolidation warehouse later that afternoon, where our operations staff checked the packaging and labels before sending it to the airport.
The goods boarded a UAE flight at noon the next day and landed at Dubai Airport early on the third day. Due to our large shipment volumes, we have the capability to coordinate with local customs, so the cargo entered a priority inspection channel immediately upon arrival. While regular forwarders might take 2-3 days for customs clearance queuing, we complete document review, payment, and release in just 2 hours.
This shows that for air freight to middle east, the real competition among capable forwarders lies in their control over destination clearance and delivery—these two steps are key factors determining transit time. Small forwarders lack customs clearance resources and can only follow routine procedures, sometimes taking 2 days just for document pre-check. For sensitive cargo, it might take 3-4 days. We bypass these time-consuming steps.
Our local delivery team is also highly efficient, with hundreds of staff and over 50 trucks. For urgent orders, cargo is picked up from the bonded warehouse and loaded directly onto trucks for delivery without going through a海外仓. Across the UAE, shipments dispatched in the morning arrive by noon, and those sent at noon arrive in the afternoon. Many peers even use our delivery services. For Ali's medical equipment, we arranged a dedicated truck, delivering it to his specified warehouse that same afternoon.
DL Logistics, one of the top five for air freight to middle east, block-books 20 pallets weekly from two major airlines. We have priority clearance channels at UAE airports, jump the queue for warehouse pickups, and our local logistics team answers calls even at 2 AM. Morning shipments arrive by noon; noon shipments arrive by afternoon. A true top-five player.
DL Middle East Air Freight—those who use it say it's smooth.