Kansas City International Airport Terminal Reaches First Birthday

February 28, 2024

Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal is celebrating one year of operation. The 40-gate terminal opened on February 28, 2023, a little more than 50 years after the airport and its three-terminals began serving Kansas City.

The opening was commemorated in advance by a ribbon-cutting led by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, featuring U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri and Kansas officials, and other dignitaries.

The first anniversary of the terminal is marked by a weeklong birthday celebration. Travelers can enjoy birthday-themed decor, selfie photo stations, a walk-in bubble globe, commemorative bag tags, and other giveaways. On Friday, the barbecue operator handoff will occur in the Made of KC BBQ Experience.

At just over one million square feet and a budget of $1.5 billion, the terminal was the largest single infrastructure project in the city’s history. Design and construction efforts for the new terminal began in 2018 and the project broke ground in March 2019. The terminal and garage opened on time and on budget, while supporting more than 6,000 construction jobs and working with more than 100 women and minority-owned businesses.

“One year ago today, we delivered on our commitment to open the new airport terminal—the largest single infrastructure project in our City’s history, ahead of time and on budget. We cut the ribbon celebrating not only the expansion and improvement of travel, but also the possibilities to come for our community as a result,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas. “One year in, the new KCI terminal has been a tremendous success.”

“The terminal is exceeding expectations,” said City Manager Brian Platt. “We’ve had more than 101,590 scheduled flights since opening. TSA and its private screening partners have screened about 10 percent more passengers than in the old terminals, and average wait times have gone down. This can be attributed in part to the consolidation of resources into 17 security lanes that can be opened and closed with the ebb and flow of passenger volume.

By the numbers, 6 million passengers have been screened since the terminal opened, with about 11.5 million total passengers arriving and departing.

Also impressive is the nearly 3.2 million outbound bags and 6.5 million total bags moved through the central baggage handling system.

“I cannot believe that it has been one year since we opened Kansas City’s new airport terminal,” said Aviation Director Melissa Cooper. “On behalf of the City of Kansas City and the entire airport family, I am pleased to report that the first year has been an overall success!”

The terminal supports more efficient airline operations and allows airport users to enjoy the convenience of modern air travel in a facility with updated technology and amenities.

The terminal features spacious gate areas, nearly 50 local and national food and beverage, and shopping experiences. The facility has 40 gates and the ability to expand up to 50 gates. Two moving walkways expedite transfers between the two concourses. Consolidated and flexible security checkpoints with 17 lanes were designed to accommodate the ebb and flow of passenger volume. The new 6,200-space garage is adjacent to the terminal with plenty of close-in, covered parking.

Planners strove to make the terminal the most accessible airport terminal in the US with gradual slopes, an inclusive play area, sensory and quiet rooms, infant feeding rooms, and service animal relief areas. The Kansas City Air Travel Experience is a partial airliner adapted for individuals with anxiety or other conditions that may make them fearful of flying.

All amenities are accessible to passengers of all airlines. Just a few of the other amenities include:

Two-level curbside drop-off and pickup-design separating vehicular traffic
Spacious Check-In Hall with airline check-in
Two-sided concourses for easy airline connections
Large international arrivals area
Glass boarding bridges
Centralized staffed customer service helpdesks
The largest One Percent for Art project in KC history
History display
Military USO
Device charging stations, including wireless phone charging
Gender-specific, all-gender, and family restrooms featuring stall availability lights
Garage with stall availability lighting, electric vehicle charging, speed ramps
Wireless inductive charging for all-electric Economy Parking lot buses

Led by developer Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate and their design-build partner Clark | Weitz | Clarkson, the terminal project generated up to 6,000 construction-related jobs. More than 240 Kansas City-area firms were on the project with 130-plus minority- and women-owned business partners. The project was funded using 100 percent tax-exempt debt – the most cost-efficient approach for the project.

The terminal opening marked the end of the three-building terminal complex that opened more than 50 years ago on November 11, 1972. Terminal A was razed to make way for construction of the new terminal and garage. The contract to demolish terminals B and C was awarded and work should begin this spring. Terminal B garage will remain and serve as employee parking and Terminal C garage will be used for public parking in the future.

The Kansas City Airport System is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of Kansas City, Mo., and is supported wholly by airport user charges. No general fund tax revenues are used for the administration, promotion, operation, or maintenance of the airports in the system. Visit FlyKC.com for more information. Find us on Twitter/X, Facebook,Instagramand LinkedIn.