Airlines Give Flowers Wings

Miami International Airport is the entry point for 85 percent of flowers, including Mother’s Day bouquets.

Most airline passengers focus on legroom and the space in the overhead bins. Few think about what’s beneath the cabin floor. Roses, carnations, hydrangeas, sunflowers and other varieties arrive in the United States in the bellies of passenger planes. They are rushed by forklift from planes to chilled warehouses and then onto refrigerated trucks or other planes. Eventually, they’re delivered to florists, gas stations and grocery stores across the country.

Airplane cargo can include fresh Alaskan salmon, this year’s latest luxury clothing from Milan and Peruvian asparagus heading to London. Then there are the more unusual items like human corneas, the occasional live cheetah or lion, and large shipments of gold and diamonds. Cargo is an increasingly important part of the business for U.S. passenger airlines. New jets are built with more freight space. And airlines are adding new nonstop international routes popular with shippers. That provides plenty of room for flowers. Thousands of flowers are needed every Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day – the two dates when the most flowers are sold.

If this year’s severe weather continues through May 11, the biggest problem this Mother’s Day might be the final few miles of the journey. Cold fronts, high winds, mud slides and tornados may make suburban roads difficult for local delivery drivers.