100 Millionth Passenger At Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Wins Car, Travel, Giftcard

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Sunday hosted its 100 millionth passenger, awarding the lucky traveler a Nissan Altima, two Delta round-trip plane tickets to anywhere around the world and a $500 giftcard, WSB, Atlanta, reported. International accounting firm KPMG was hired to verify the milestone.

The 100 millionth passenger was identified as Larry Kendrick of Biloxi, Mississippi, who was welcomed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago O'Hare International Airport regularly trade the title of World's Busiest Airport. Through October, O'Hare reported 735,742 flights and 64.6 million passengers while Atlanta handled 737,463 flights and 84.8 million passengers. WSB said flight counts decreased this year as airlines flew larger planes with more passengers. Atlanta reported a 5 percent increase in passengers in 2015.

“For the first time in history, an airport will have 100 million passengers. That’s something only Atlanta can claim,” airport general manager Miguel Southwell said.

The Chicago Tribune reported O'Hare ranks near the bottom of a customer satisfaction survey conducted by J.D. Power. "One of the key experiences that travelers talk about is the time it takes to get through an airport complex," said Jeff Conklin, vice president of the utility and infrastructure practice at J.D. Power. "O'Hare did not rank well for congestion — the time it takes to check in, the time it takes to go through security."

Portland International Airport in Oregon ranked first in the survey of 31 large airports. O'Hare was 28th. Hartsfield-Jackson ranked No. 8.

AAA motor club reported air travel was up 0.7 percent for the holidays this year, with 5.8 million Americans flying to their destinations. The AAA travel index indicated fares to the top 40 domestic destinations were 6 percent lower this year, falling to an average $174 round trip. Hotel lodgings were up 11 percent to an average $119, and car rental rates were up 3 percent to an average $68.