His story begins in Haiti, as one of 13 children. Even then, Harold Charles — an esteemed Turks & Caicos businessman and philanthropist — knew what he wanted to do with his life. Back then, Harold was obsessed with aviation. He dreamed of one day becoming a pilot, but growing up in a country known for its extreme poverty, there was no obvious pathway to pursuing his dream job — until 1974.
That was the year Harold came to the Turks & Caicos in search of opportunity. And indeed, an opportunity appeared. Harold was given the chance to clean planes for a living, an offer that he graciously accepted. And so began his climb up the ladder in the Turks & Caicos world of aviation.
Harold went from cleaner to pilot, and from pilot to eventually owning the airline for which he once worked. He went on to found the airline Sky King, which became the leading carrier in TCI. The decision to come to the Turks & Caicos and accept that plane cleaning job spurred decades of entrepreneurship, and beyond that, giving back to the community that gave him the opportunity to live out his dream.
We chatted with Harold to learn more about how he went from an aviation-obsessed young man cleaning planes for a living, to a commercial pilot, to the owner of a Turks & Caicos airline. And it only got better. After more than three decades of living and working in the Turks & Caicos, Harold was honored in the best way possible for a man who has spent most of his life working in the aviation industry: An airport was named after him. Yes, there’s a Harold Charles International Airport in the Turks & Caicos.
Watch: Terry Meneley Interviews Harold Charles
Who We Are
At National Colony Realty, we love putting the spotlight on the special people who live in the Turks & Caicos. We believe it’s the stories of all of these interesting and hard-working individuals that make our islands special. Want to be part of our beautiful island home? You can start by having a look at all of our Turks & Caicos real estate opportunities. Get in touch to learn more.
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