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Change Your Life! |
JFK Airport's celebration of its one-billionth passenger dimmed by Delay |
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August 5, 2000
NEW YORK,(AP) - John F. Kennedy International Airport celebrated its one-billionth passenger - an Italian - holding the ceremony inside its newest, cleanest and most efficient terminal. The milestone Thursday vaults JFK into an esteemed group of airports in London, Atlanta, and Chicago that previously reached the mark. But woes have dogged the 52-year-old airport for years and placed it among the bottom in passengers' airport rankings. The Port Authority is now in the early stages of a dlrs 9 billion plan to renovate JFK's eight other terminals, reconfigure roadways, and connect it to the mass transit systems in Queens. The officials had hoped that by holding the ceremony inside JFK's newest jewel, the two-year-old Terminal 1, the Port Authority's future - and not its past - would be the aspect that received attention. "The whole thing here is to make it as convenient as possible and that can be manifested in several ways," said Greg Trevor, a Port Authority spokesman. "Kennedy Airport is being reborn and what an event like this shows is that millions of travelers, both internationally and nationally, make it their port of choice." Vincezzo Maglione and his family were the fortunate travelers making it their choice. Maglione, 36, was on the first day of a 10-day vacation with his wife, Tizianna, also 36, and their children, Francesco, 10, and Barbara, 6, when he learned he was the one-billionth passenger after getting off Alitalia's Flight 610, which touched down just before 5 p.m (2100 GMT). "I have no words, I am astonished," he said, adding later, "In my life, this is the first time I won something." Among a lengthy list of gifts, Alitalia gave Maglione two round-trip tickets from the United States to Rome. The family, from Milan, Italy, also received a limousine ride, a welcome basket containing a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, and a dinner for two at the Windows of the World restaurant on top of the World Trade Center. The Magliones received their gifts amid the hoopla of Alitalia employees waving red, green and white balloons and the music of a three-piece instrumental band. Meanwhile, an audience watched while preparing for departing flights of their own. Many looked around the terminal, viewing the brightly lit facility that resembles an airplane hanger and is also home to a plethora of stores and restaurants.
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