Improper air-to-sea routing blamed for slow deliveries as new validation steps are now in place. 

The U.S. Postal Service says it's taking action after discovering that some mail bound for Guam and other U.S. territories was incorrectly routed, causing major delays. 

A recent internal review revealed that certain items, including priority mail and lightweight ground advantage packages, were mistakenly sent by sea instead of air, even when customers paid for faster service.

USPS Strategic Communications Specialist John Hyatt confirmed new validation procedures are now in place at key processing centers to ensure mail is routed by the proper mode of transportation. 

The agency is also retraining staff and certifying routing protocols to prevent future misclassification. 

Hyatt says USPS understands how critical timely and accurate mail service is for customers in Guam and the Pacific region, and apologized for the inconvenience, promising improvements ahead.