Miami International AirportÆs busiest day
Valentine's Day marks the end of the busiest period of the year for air cargo at Miami International Airport, as the final rush of flowers from South America funnels through the airport en route to flower distributors and shops throughout the country.
Flower industry estimates say 90 percent of the flowers shipped on Valentine's Day originate in South America. Miami-Dade Aviate Department figures, meanwhile, say 86 percent of all the flowers imported into the United States move through Miami International, with Valentine's Day being the busiest time of the year.
Plantation, Fla.-based DHL said it expects to ship a record 10 million flowers for Valentine's Day this year, feeding major flower retailers like FLOWERS.COM, American Rainbow Floral, FTD, Galleria Farms, Queens Floral and USA Bouquet.
DHL said the majority of its floral shipments come from growers in Colombia and Ecuador. Eighty percent of these floral shipments are destined for Miami where they undergo agricultural inspection right at the terminal at Miami International.
Many of the DHL flowers were brought in over the last several days and shipped in an expanded fleet of refrigerated trucks to the DHL air and ground hub in Wilmington, Ohio, for final distribution.
DHL said it scheduled additional flights out of Miami Tuesday to serve its floral customers.
Miami-Dade Aviation Department cargo specialist Bunny Schreiber said Valentine's Day is the most intense flower shipping period, with even greater pressure than Mother's Day, the other peak week of the year.
The explanation? Valentine's Day is more time-sensitive because if an order goes out a day or so late on Mother's Day, the sender will still be forgiven and thanked. If flowers are shipped a day late for Valentine's Day, however, the person giving the flowers will be in big trouble.
Miami International Airport’s busiest day
