# Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)

> Columbia, US · IATA: CAE · ICAO: KCAE · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `CAE` |
| ICAO | `KCAE` |
| City | Columbia |
| Country | US |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 72 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 33.93880, -81.11950 |

## Description

FAA figures put 79.2 million pounds of freight and mail — roughly 36,000 tonnes — through Columbia Metropolitan Airport (IATA: CAE, ICAO: KCAE) in West Columbia, South Carolina during 2025, making it one of the few US regional fields with genuine freighter activity rather than passenger belly space alone. The engine is UPS Airlines' southeastern regional hub, opened in August 1996: around 220 staff, about ten cargo flights a day and sorting equipment rated at up to 41,000 packages an hour. FedEx also serves the airport, so express and e-commerce consignments from the Midlands can depart without first trucking to Atlanta. CAE has since taken ground handling in-house and built a dedicated air-cargo market analysis into its 2025 master plan, aiming to add tonnage. On the passenger side American, Delta and United connect Columbia with Atlanta, Charlotte and Dallas/Fort Worth, adding belly capacity alongside the freighters. Interstates I-26 and I-77 place the Port of Charleston and the Upstate's automotive and tyre plants within trucking reach, which suits spare-parts and production-launch traffic. For intercontinental shipments, Atlanta (ATL, about 210 miles) and Charlotte (CLT, about 80 miles) remain the nearest major gateways.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/columbia-metropolitan-airport-cae](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/columbia-metropolitan-airport-cae)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/columbia-metropolitan-airport-cae](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/columbia-metropolitan-airport-cae)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/columbia-metropolitan-airport-cae/llm-summary*