Taking off: Air cargo soars as Charleston region flourishes
Darkness slowly evaporates as daylight creeps in on a muggy June morning at Charleston International Airport’s cargo terminal. A dark layer of low-lying clouds threatens more than a morning mist but holds off for now.
Slowly, a plane approaches across the airfield, one of two FedEx jets bringing in a fresh cargo of boxed flowers, coolers of perishables such as oysters and a mix of products as varied as the business names on the seemingly endless parade of cardboard boxes.
The smaller propeller craft taxis to a stop near the air cargo terminal where a small squadron of FedEx workers, already waiting on the apron’s edges, springs into action.