The Atlanta International Airport is the first airport to service 100 million passengers in just one year. It now serves more customers than any other airport in the world.
The 100th million passenger is Larry Kendrick who flew in from Mississippi. He arrive at the Atlanta International Airport to two round-trip tickets to anywhere, $US500 and a Nissan Altima for him to drive where planes can't fly.
'I'm happy I could be part of it,' said the 35-year-old in a statement released by the airport.
Kendrick took his winning trip aboard Delta Airlines Flight 1256. He was identified through a series of accounting estimates and algorithms.
Kendrick, an industrial construction worker traveling from his home in Biloxi to a job in Iowa, was thrilled. 'My past two vehicles have been Nissans, I like them,' he said, adding that his Delta tickets may be used for an overseas flight. 'I've seen a lot of the United States, so Australia is definitely in the mix. Dubai does sound pretty good, too. I don't know - it's up in the air,' he said, laughing.
This event is the first time an airport had recorded 100 million passengers in a single year and airport officials and city leaders were present during this event.
'Today, we are making aviation history,' Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told the crowd moments before the flight arrived in a release by the airport's website. 'As we move into 2016, it is our commitment to maintain our position as the world's most travelled airport, the most efficient, and soon we will start competing to be the most sustainable.'
According to the Airports Council International, Atlanta has held the title of the world's busiest airport in terms of passengers for more than 15 years and served more than 96 million passengers in 2014.
Airports in Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth were the only other American airports to make the top-10 list last year on passenger count, according to the council.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
