Tag Archives: GRRand Passengers

Ford Airport to Surprise ‘GRRand Passengers’ After Record-Breaking Year

Sue Diehl, Ford airport’s three millionth passenger in 2019, was met with a surprise of balloons, airline vouchers, gifts, free parking, and more. (Supplied)



By Tara Hernandez
Gerald R. Ford International Airport


The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) will be surprising two special “GRRand Passengers” on Tuesday, Jan. 21, to commemorate another record-setting year.

Official passenger totals will be released on Tuesday, and Ford Airport calculations show 2019 as the best year in GFIA history. November 2019 was the busiest November in Airport history with 283,895 passengers served, putting the total numbers for the year at 3,276,656 – already surpassing 2018’s total of 3,265,242 with one month left.

Media and the public are welcome to join airport officials as they surprise two lucky “GRRand Passengers” around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“We have another tremendous year to celebrate and we thought this would be a fun way to engage with our guests and also brighten the days for two very lucky people,” said Tory Richardson, Gerald R. Ford International Airport President & CEO. “We are thankful to live in a community where we have such wonderful support of our Airport, and this is just a small way for us to say thank you to West Michigan for the loyalty throughout the past year.”

The “GRRand Passengers” will each be receiving two $350 travel vouchers and three free days of parking from the Airport Authority, a gift basket of travel accessories valued over $300, and much more.

Airport staff will also be passing out cupcakes, airport trinkets, and registering people to win a $350 flight vouchers from 10 a.m. – 2p.m. that day.