Will these flowers end up with your valentine? See what just arrived at Miami's airport
Expecting flowers?
You'll find them at Miami International Airport, where fresh-cut cargo has been pouring into cold storage centers for delivery to your favorite store, street corner or directly to your home.
Miami is the U.S. capital of flower power, where cargo planes fly in the colorful goods that may make up your sweetheart's bouquet. Thousands of airport workers play a pivotal role in whether romantics across the United States enjoy the next few days.
The country's top two sources of fresh-cut flowers are Colombia and Ecuador. MIA receives 91% of all flowers that are imported by air.
Airport officials estimate that more than 90,000 tons of fresh-cut flowers arrived at MIA before Valentine's Day this year. That's a new record for the airport, 3% higher than the previous record set in 2023 and about $400 million in value.
How flowers enter America
Miami International is 'America's largest gateway for fresh flowers,' said airport Director and CEO Ralph Cutie..
With the risk of breaking your heart, their operation is methodical and rigorous.
On the morning of Feb. 12, two Boeing 767 Fed Ex cargo planes were parked outside its facility at MIA, just arriving from Colombia and Ecuador with carnations, chrysanthemums and other flowers cut as recently as Feb. 10. With the Florida sun blazing overhead, dozens of employees worked fast to haul crates off the planes and onto trucks. Then, they drove them inside the cargo complex and into the cold storage room, where doors opened and closed immediately.
Dozens of employees wearing wool jackets, hoods and ski caps started organizing the flowers. Several workers covered their mouths or faces while hauling heavy cargo as temperatures inside the cold room ranged from 36 to 42 degrees. The cold keeps flowers fresh.
MIA is the site of Fed Ex's largest 'cold chain operation' worldwide, said Basil Khalil, vice president of operations for FedEx Caribbean and Latin America. Fed Ex delivered over 2 million pounds of flowers to the airport in February from Colombia and Ecuador, he said.
About three years ago, the shipping company made a big bet on Miami by doubling the size of its cargo facility at MIA, said the Miami-based executive. That brought it to over 280,000 square feet, about the size of five NFL fields. Fed Ex has more than 500 employees at the site.
'The flower industry helps employ thousands of people in Colombia and here at MIA,' Khalil said.
Inspection by U.S officials
After arriving and getting sorted, the flowers are moved into another room where Customs and Border Protection agents inspect them. Arriving boxes were stacked vertically in front of them, separated by type of flower and vendor.
Each agent carefully inspects the flowers, looking for exotic pests or animal diseases such as avian flu or African swine fever.
If they find something suspicious, they send it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for further analysis.
About 2% of flowers that arrive go through this inspection, said Abel Serrano, assistant port director of agriculture for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That figure may surprise many consumers for being low, but Serrano says it's what's needed to get a representative sample.
About 200 agents have been doing this work every day in February, in eight-hour shifts. Most have specialties in agriculture or biology. An additional 20 agents came in from other locations, Serrano said.
Fed Ex is just one of the cargo companies at MIA handling flowers. Twelve cargo carriers operate from Colombia and nine from Ecuador. Flowers are the airport's largest product by weight, accounting for nearly 360,000 tons annually and worth $1.65 billion.
Colombian carrier Avianca Cargo delivered about 18,000 tons of flowers to MIA during the three weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, operating about 300 cargo flights. The carrier increased its U.S.-based workforce by 30% during this time. And LATAM Cargo delivered almost 25,000 tons of flowers.
Flowers are a year-round business in Miami
But it's not only Valentine's Day that brings in the bouquets. Fresh-cut flowers imported into the U.S. in December 2024 totaled $172.43 million, 177% more than in 2013, and more than in each year since at least then.
And the market and MIA's overall role in receiving flower imports continue to grow.
Several hundred airport, seaports and border crossings handle international trade, yet MIA continues to be the top port. In 2024, the U.S. imported $2.26 billion in fresh-cut flowers, an increase in value of 9% compared to 2023, according to data provided by Ken Roberts. founder and CEO of World City Web, a trade research and media site. MIA handled 81% of that.
As a source of flower imports, Colombia dominated the overall market as well, accounting for 60% in total value in 2024. Ecuador was second with 25% and Canada in third with 5%, according to World City Web.
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