Southern Air Transport

Southern Air's roots lie in another US-based cargo carrier with a slightly longer name. Southern Air Transport (SAT) came into existence in 1947, initially operating as a Miami-based charter airline that flew cargo to the Bahamas. By 1960, it was a three-aircraft affair that was suffering from significant debts. However, it was offered an unlikely lifeline. This came in the form of an acquisition by the US Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA owned Southern Air Transport until 1973. During this time, the carrier grew considerably, before re-entering private ownership. In the mid-1980s, it was caught up in arms transportation to Iran and Central America. Moving into the 1990s, 1994 saw the company relocate its headquarters from Miami to Columbus, Ohio. Despite this, it filed for bankruptcy in 1998, following a failed merger with other carriers. However, a year later, a newly-formed carrier named Southern Air picked up the pieces when it acquired SAT's assets under the leadership of James Neff. Despite merging Cargo 360 into its operations in 2007, the carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five years later. It exited this in early 2013. Atlas Air purchased the airline in April 2016, which ultimately led to Southern Air being merged into Atlas's operations. This was completed in November 2021, bringing SAT/Southern Air's interesting and varied history to a close.