In honor of Women’s History Month, meet one of the women helping cargo flights soar.

This Women’s History Month, we're highlighting some of the women currently making history at our airport. MIA cargo reached sky-high records in 2020 with a total of 2.32 million tons, surpassing the previous year by over 57,000 tons. Meet one of the cargo community leaders working behind-the-scenes to make it all happen, Lorena Sandoval.

• What do you do at MIA?

I am American Airlines Cargo’s Sales Director for the Eastern United States, Latin America, Caribbean and Canada.

• What’s your favorite memory from working at MIA?

Throughout my career at American, I’ve had a number of favorite memories, from opening American’s Ticket Sales Center in Havana, to most recently, taking part in our first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines at our MIA hub - a truly rewarding experience.

• How has your job evolved in the past year?

While this last year has certainly presented the aviation industry with challenges unlike anything before, the air cargo industry has had to stay particularly creative due to the high demand for our service. Cargo has always been an important part of the bottom line at American, but the pandemic has really underscored the value and need for air cargo as an industry.

Flying cargo-only flights is something we hadn’t done in more than 35 years, and it’s something we wouldn’t have planned on before the pandemic. This type of flying has given us the opportunity to keep the world connected during this time of crisis, initially by moving critical supplies and most recently, COVID-19 vaccines.

Just in Miami, we’ve operated about 600 cargo-only flights to destinations including Buenos Aires, London, Montevideo, Paris, Santiago and San Juan.

• Tell us something that people may not know about you.

Thirty years ago, I started my career with American as a Reservations and Ticket Agent in Quito.

• Have you picked up any interesting hobbies this past year?

Gardening has been a great outlet for me during this past year, allowing me to meditate and recharge my batteries.

• What’s something that you’ve recently learned about yourself?

From new skills to self-care, the pandemic has helped me evaluate and reset my priorities, both professionally and personally.