Airport officials expect to meet the 100 million passenger milestone in the next few weeks, making Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport the first airport to serve that many travelers in a calendar year.

Spokesman Reese McCranie says the airport will owe the record in large part to its role as a major stop over.

"If you look at all our connecting traffic that we've got with our hub carrier Delta and all of our other partner airlines as well, we have a sort of perfect storm really to meet this milestone," he says.

The airport came close to the record last year with 96.1 million passengers, and McCranie says estimates for this year showed the airport missing the 100 million mark.

"This year, initial projections put us at about 98 million passengers, but traveling has actually really picked up, given that the recession has ended, and people are traveling more," he says. "We've actually seen that quite demonstrably here."

McCranie says the milestone won't mean additional hassle for flyers and says it will keep the Hartsfield-Jackson focused on its ability to handle an ever-increasing number of travelers.

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