Inside the Thanksgiving mad dash at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

— -- More than two dozen men and women circle up, their arms rotating behind and in front of them in a series of stretching exercises. It's the calm before the storm for the baggage handlers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

"[Stretching] does make a difference," said Laura Sabatino, a physical therapist for American Airlines at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. "Nobody realizes how physical the jobs in the airport industry are. I mean, they're lifting over and over all day."

Three minutes after a plane arrives at the gate, these workers are tasked with quickly unloading and loading passengers' luggage.

"Everything has to be done in 120 minutes, otherwise we don't make our time," said Frank Fracsa, a maintenance worker for American Airlines.

And the rush is on in Charlotte to get passengers into the air and on to their Thanksgiving plans.

The airport, commonly known simply as CLT, is the ninth busiest in the United States and the second biggest hub for American Airlines. Airport officials there are expecting to serve more than 130,000 passengers on Wednesday alone.

Nationwide, TSA plans to screen more than 26 million passengers and crew at airport checkpoints, a 5 percent increase over last year.

Many airline employees like pilots, flight attendants and gate agents are regularly seen by fliers, but there are others who are working equally hard over the holiday: baggage and cargo handlers, mechanics and cleaners.

Before most passengers even arrive at the gate, maintenance workers are checking cabin pressurization, air conditioning, electrical, hydraulic systems and even the tray tables and overhead bins.

"We'll analyze and decide how much time it'll take to fix it, whether or not we have the parts and we'll fix it if we can," said Brett Ebert, an inspector for American Airlines.

The decision needs to be made quickly, because there's always another plane coming and the gate may be needed.