U.S. airport showers man with gifts for becoming 100 millionth passenger
Xinhua, December 28, 2015 Adjust font size:
An American man had a stroke of luck Sunday morning when he was declared the 100 millionth passenger at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia, which awarded him with a car and other gifts.
The passenger, Larry Kendrick of Biloxi, Mississippi, received a red-carpet welcome when he arrived at the airport, which celebrated the milestone of becoming the first single airport in the world that has served 100 million passengers in a calendar year.
"Our 100M passenger Larry just received a Nissan Altima, 2 round-trip tickets to anywhere @Delta flies & a $500 gift card. Congrats!" said the airport in a tweet.
A surprised Kendrick walked down the red carpet as crowds of journalists and onlookers cheered. He was welcomed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and airport officials at the ceremony held at the terminal to celebrate the milestone.
Airport General Manager Miguel Southwell said the airport hired the accounting firm KPMG to "help validate this milestone."
"For the first time in history, an airport will have 100 million passengers. That's something only Atlanta can claim," he said.
According to Southwell, the airport, which served 96 million passengers in 2014, had a 5 percent increase in passengers this year. Endit