US airport celebrates 100m 2015 passengers

US airport celebrates 100m 2015 passengers

Atlanta International Airport, which serves more customers than any other in the world, has reached 100 million passengers since January 1.

The milestone is one no other airport has ever reached.

When anointed passenger Larry Kendrick flew in from Mississippi on Sunday - one of the busiest travel days of the year - he was greeted with two round-trip tickets to anywhere, $US500 ($A690) and a Nissan Altima, presumably to go places planes won'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.

Airport officials and city leaders, who were present at the fanfare and water cannon salute for Kendrick when he landed, said it was the first time an airport had recorded 100 million passengers in a single year.

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, according to Airports Council International.

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.