✈️ Air Freight

Air Freight from China to Choloma

China → Choloma · via SAP air / Puerto Cortes sea · clearance by Administración Aduanera de Honduras

Cargo handling on the China–Choloma lane.

For buyers shipping into Choloma, the practical question is not the ocean or flight time but what happens after arrival. Choloma is maquila and apparel manufacturing city; cargo enters through SAP air / Puerto Cortes sea, and the inland leg is same-day, so the clearance date is effectively the delivery date.

The clearing authority is Administración Aduanera de Honduras. Historical dwell on this gateway is around 4–10 days, and it lengthens in Sep–Nov.

What the routing looks like in practice

Puerto Cortés is the deepest and best-equipped port in Central America and clears a large share of the region's Atlantic-side volume. San Pedro Sula is the commercial center and the natural distribution base, with Tegucigalpa served by road. Asian cargo normally transships at Panama, Cartagena or Kingston.

Air gateways used	SAP (San Pedro Sula), TGU (Tegucigalpa)
Air transit, China to gateway	4–7 business days
Gateway serving Choloma	SAP air / Puerto Cortes sea
Inland leg to Choloma	Same day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	4–10 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Import duty and tax position for Choloma

Administración Aduanera de Honduras assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Choloma consignees. Current regime: ISV 15%; Central American common tariff 0–15%, with a de-minimis position of USD 100 for courier consignments.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Honduras: Transshipment dependency means feeder timing drives the schedule. Free-zone regimes for the apparel sector have separate duty treatment.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Choloma (Honduras) freight lane — Handling on the SAP air / Puerto Cortes sea routing serving Choloma.

Pre-shipment checklist for Choloma

Check the de-minimis position (USD 100 for courier consignments) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Sep–Nov, when space on this lane tightens.
Get the conformity paperwork moving early: Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods.
Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
Compare gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000) — the higher figure is what gets billed on air and express.
Put the Choloma delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Choloma take?

China to the Honduras gateway is 4–7 business days. On top of that, allow 4–10 days of clearance with Administración Aduanera de Honduras and a same-day inland leg to Choloma.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Choloma?

Administración Aduanera de Honduras applies: ISV 15%; Central American common tariff 0–15%. The de-minimis position is USD 100 for courier consignments. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Choloma.

What certification do I need for Honduras?

For regulated goods, plan for: Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods. Missing conformity paperwork is the single most common cause of a hold, and in most cases it cannot be remedied once the cargo has arrived.

What documents does Administración Aduanera de Honduras require?

A commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where it lowers duty, and any product certification (Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods). We prepare and file these as part of the service.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Choloma?

Yes. Delivery to a Choloma address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to Administración Aduanera de Honduras, and the same-day inland leg. Confirm whether your consignee wants the goods at a warehouse, a marketplace fulfillment center or a shop front, because the last-mile requirement differs.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Choloma?

We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight — length × width × height in centimeters divided by 6000 for air — and bill the greater of the two, rounded up to the next kilogram. Light, bulky cargo is almost always billed on volume.

Other delivery cities in Honduras

All Honduras freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Honduras change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with Administración Aduanera de Honduras or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 8 月 2026.

Shipping by industry

This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.

All 139 industry guides →

Checking the Honduras duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Administración Aduanera de Honduras against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.

If you want to sanity-check a duty figure yourself, start from the heading rather than the product name — the WCO Harmonized System is the underlying nomenclature, and the WTO Tariff & Trade Data portal holds the applied rates by country pair.

On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.

On the origin side, export declaration and any commodity inspection requirement fall under China Customs (GACC); we handle that filing as part of the service, but the requirement is theirs, not ours.

If this is your first shipment into Honduras, the Honduras Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.

Watch: the process behind this route

This guide covers routing and clearance for Choloma. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

How to find HS Codes and Calculate Import Duty - 5 tips to save on Duties and Tariffs — Sourcing with Kian. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.

Get a rate for Choloma

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a published rate card, because the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we will come back with a full DDP figure.

Request a quote → See the Honduras route page →

Customs clearance in Honduras

Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

Honduras clearance requirements →