Kansas City International Airport

Kansas City Industrial Airport

Kansas City Industrial Airport was built after the Great Flood of 1951 destroyed the facilities of both of Kansas City's hometown airlines Mid-Continent Airlines and TWA at Fairfax Airport across the Missouri River from the city's main Kansas City Municipal Airport (which was not as badly damaged). TWA's main overhaul base was a former B-25 bomber factory at Fairfax, although TWA commercial flights flew out of the main downtown airport.

Kansas City was planning to build an airport with room for 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runways and knew the downtown airport wouldn't do.

Kansas City already owned Grandview Airport south of the city with ample room for expansion, but the city chose to build a new airport north of the city away from the Missouri River following lobbying by Platte County native Jay B. Dillingham, president of the Kansas City Stockyards, which had also been destroyed in the flood. TWA moved its Fairfax plant to the new airport and also its overseas overhaul operations at New Castle County Airport in Delaware.

The site just north of the then unincorporated hamlet of Hampton, Missouri was picked in May 1953 (with an anticipated cost of $23 million) under the guidance of City Manager L.P. Cookingham. Cookingham Drive is now the main access road to the airport. Ground was broken in September 1954. The first runway opened in 1956; at about the same time the city donated the southern Grandview Airport to the United States Air Force to become Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base.

The airport was across US 71 (now I-29) from the Red Crown Tourist Court, where outlaws Bonnie and Clyde engaged in a 1933 shootout with law enforcement, which led to the death of Clyde's brother Buck Barrow and the capture of Buck's wife Blanche Barrow.

TWA's Kansas City Overhaul Base at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s was Kansas City's largest employer, with 6,000 employees.

Mid-Continent International Airport

Although Mid-Continent merged with Braniff in 1952, Kansas City decided to name the new airport on the basis of Mid-Continent's historic roots (serving the Mid-continent Oil Field).^[2]

In 1954 TWA signed an agreement to move its overhaul base to the airport; the city was to build and own the $18 million-base and lease it to TWA, but the downtown airport continued to be Kansas City's airline airport; a 1963 Federal Aviation Agency memo called the downtown airport "one of the poorest major airports in the country for large jet aircraft" and recommended against spending any more federal dollars on it.

Along with the cramped site, there were doubts that the downtown site could handle the new Boeing 747. Jets had to make steep climbs and descents to avoid the downtown skyscrapers on the 200-ft (60-m) Missouri River bluffs at Quality Hill, east of the approach course a mile or two south of the south end of the runway, and downtown Kansas City was in the flight path for takeoffs and landings, resulting in a constant roar downtown. Mid-Continent was surrounded by open farm land.

TWA's "Airport of the Future"

In 1966, voters in a 24:1 margin approved a $150 million bond issue following a campaign by Mayor Ilus W. Davis to move the city's main airport to an expanded Mid-Continent. The city had considered building its new airport five miles (8 km) north of downtown Kansas City in the Missouri River bottoms, as well as locations in southern Jackson County, Missouri, but decided to stick with the property it already owned. The old terminals were demolished to make room for the current facilities, built in 1972.

The airport property was in an unincorporated area of Platte County until the small town of Platte City, Missouri, annexed the airport during construction.

Kansas City eventually annexed the airport. Kivett and Myers designed the terminals and control tower; it was dedicated on October 23, 1972, by US Vice President Spiro Agnew. Labor strife and interruptions raised its cost to $250 million. Kansas City renamed the airport Kansas City International Airport (although it kept MCI as its airport code). TWA, Braniff and everyone else moved to MCI.

Many design decisions were driven by TWA, which envisioned it would be its hub, with 747s and Supersonic Transports whisking people from America's heartland to all points on the globe. Streets around the airport included Mexico City Avenue, Brasília Avenue, Paris Street, London Avenue and Tel Aviv Avenue.

TWA vetoed concepts to model the airport on Washington Dulles International Airport and Tampa International Airport, because those two airports had people movers which it deemed too expensive. TWA insisted on "Drive to Your Gate" with flight gates 75 feet (23 m) from the roadway (signs along the roadway showed the flights leaving each gate). The single-level terminals had no stairs. A similar layout was to be built at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

TWA's flawed vision

TWA's vision for the future of flight which had been pioneered by the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in New York City (which also featured cars close to the gates design) proved obsolete almost from the start.

The terminals turned out to be unfriendly to the 747, since passengers spilled out of the gate area into the halls. When security checkpoints were added in the 1970s to stem hijackings, they were difficult and expensive to implement since security checkpoints had to be installed at each gate area rather than at a centralized area.

As a result, passenger services were nonexistent downstream of the security checkpoint in the gate area. No restrooms were available, and shops, restaurants, newsstands, ATMs or any other passenger services were not available without exiting the secure area and being re-screened upon re-entry.

Shortly after the airport opened, TWA asked that the terminals be rebuilt to address these issues. Kansas City, citing the massive cost overruns on a newly built airport to TWA specification, refused, prompting TWA to move its hub to Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri.

Design

MCI passenger terminals have a unique structure comprising three terminals in the shape of rings. Each ring has short-term parking in the center of the ring. Thus, it is possible for travelers to park, walk no more than a hundred feet and go directly to their gates. Arriving travelers can leave their gates, and walk immediately out of the terminal without passing through any corridors. The airport also has several off-site airport parking facilities. Slogans at the time of the bond issue were "The world's shortest walk to fly" and "Drive to your gate". A proposed fourth ring, as well as a fourth 15,100-foot (4,600 m) runway, have never been built, although, until the new rental car facility was erected, one could see the foundation that had been laid for the fourth terminal.

Kansas City and the airlines have opted against any "people movers" connecting the three rings. Instead, frequent buses take passengers around the rings. Initially the bus cost 25 cents, but after an outcry by travelers the charge ended.

A similar design can be found at the Berlin-Tegel Airport and the Cologne Bonn Airport, both in Germany.

Security

After the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), MCI was one of five airports where the TSA has experimented with using independent contractors to provide all traveler inspector services. The airport uses FirstLine Transportation Security, an independent contractor which conforms to TSA's recruiting and training standards. TSA supervises these independent contractors, but they are not federal employees.

In March 2010 the airport was announced as one of the first in the US to have full-body scanners with the first one used at Southwest Airlines beginning in the summer of 2010.

Renovations

A $258 million terminal improvement project was completed in November 2004. Under lead designer 360 Architecture, the following improvements were made:

Other improvements included new finishes throughout, new entrance vestibules to improve the air lock between the building interior and exterior, new baggage claim devices, updated retail areas, new exterior glazing and a common design for ticket counters that includes sunshade devices.

Following the renovations, all three terminals include blue terrazzo floors created by artists Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel (which won a 2002 Honor Award from The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association), updated arrival/departure screens and restrooms and concessions are now available inside passenger holding areas. In May 2007, the final portion of the project (a new rental car facility and additional art fixtures) were completed.

One major problem remains after the renovation. The modifications necessary to implement TSA security created a situation where many "sanitized" gate areas have only a single restroom stall each for men and women (added during the renovation); the remaining restrooms are across the hall, which is now outside the secured area, necessitating an extra trip through TSA security. As of 2001, certain gate areas had no serviceable restrooms within the sterile area.

In 2006 the airport began offering free Wi-Fi.

As part of the renovation, the airport constructed a personal washing area for taxicab drivers, allowing them to wash up in a more safe and sanitary manner than had been occurring in sinks and floor-level bucket sinks. The installation was funded by the airport taxi license fee and other revenues.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers 10,680 acres (4,320 ha) and has three runways. In 2007 the airport had 194,969 aircraft operations, an average of 534 per day.

The airport has facilities to service and repair aircraft as large as the Boeing 747.

Terminals

The airport consists of three terminals, with an overall number of 90 gates (some of which are currently out of use): Terminal A (gates A1-A30, which all are currently out of use), Terminal B (gates B31-B60) and Terminal C (gates C61-C90). SeaPort Airlines did not operate out of the main passenger terminal; they used the private aviation terminal. Kansas City closed Terminal A on January 8, 2014. Kansas City is considering a plan to tear down Terminal A and build a new Central Terminal there, but no formal announcement on that plan has been made yet.

Road

The airport is near major highways Interstate 29 and Interstate 435, but it is 15 miles (24 km) from downtown and further from common business destinations in the southern suburbs. The few transportation options make renting a car the default.

Rental cars

The airport has a consolidated rental car facility at the corners of London and Paris and Bern and London Streets on the airport property. Each terminal has four rental car shuttle bus stops. The shuttle bus is only allowed to stop at their designated shelters located in the median area of each terminal. However, this is confusing as the signage within the airport is poorly used to indicate where each shuttle stop is. The shuttle buses are operated by First Transit and REM Inc. The buses used for the shuttle service are 40-foot (12 m) Gillig low-floor buses. These are silver in color and indicate RENTAL CAR SHUTTLE BUS on the side. The shuttles come through the terminal every two to five minutes. Riding the shuttle is free of charge for all passengers and guests of the airport.

Bus

As of March 2013, The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has implemented improvements to the public bus service to the airport. Route 129 services the airport on about 18 trips per weekday, with the first bus departing at 5:32am and the last at 11:17pm. There are also 18 round trips on Saturday and Sunday. The bus services all active terminals and provides service to the 10th and Main transit center in Downtown Kansas City, with intermediate stops. Systemwide fare is $1.50 ^[3]

A number of private scheduled shared shuttle services operate from MCI to regional cities (including Saint Joseph, Missouri; Columbia, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; Lawrence, Kansas); and military bases (Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri).

Future light rail

In November 2006 voters of Kansas City approved a 25-year extension of a 3/8-cent sales tax that will help pay for a light-rail system. Initial plans call for a rail line extending from the airport in the north, to Swope Park, Starlight Theater Kansas City and the Kansas City Zoo in the south, creating another transportation option for travelers in and out of the airport. This notion was later repealed by City Council in favor of a different proposal (which failed in the November 2008 ballots).

Proposed central terminal

Airport officials and city leaders say the merger of MCI's three terminals into one terminal is inevitable. They cite the expense of operating several security checkpoints within each terminal and the lack of concessions and retail space beyond security, as well as the operating costs of the airport itself as reasons for a new terminal. Consultants have been hired and five concepts for the future of the airport have been sketched out.

Through the years Kansas City had continued to invest in the three decentralized terminal concept by building multilevel parking structures on the inside fields of each of the "C" terminals—connected via tunnels.

South side proposal

On December 7, 2007 an update to the airport's master plan (required every 10 years for every major US airport by the FAA) unveiled new plans for a central terminal.

Under the proposed master plan, the central terminal would be built on vacant property south of the airfield and would hold a centralized security checkpoint, a concourse for concessionaires and shops and four wings for gates. Those wings could be expanded later, the consultant said. Since the south portion of the airfield is vacant, construction would in no way hamper current operations.

An extension of runway 1R to 12,000 feet (3,700 m) has been proposed, as well as a fourth 12,000-foot (3,700 m) runway just west of current runway 1L having also been discussed. The architects working on the new master plans are Landrum and Brown. On December 18, 2008 the Kansas City Council approved a master plan for the airport, which included a call for an extension of Tiffany Springs Road (to be called Tiffany Springs Parkway) between I-29 and I-435, as well as improvements to Missouri State Route 152 for the new terminal on the south side of the airport by 2025.

Terminal A rebuilding proposal

On October 18, 2012, the Kansas City Star quoted Aviation Director Mark VanLoh, who said that focus for the terminal had shifted to tearing down Terminal A and replacing it with the Central Terminal. It was determined that the south side project would have involved extensive new infrastructure, which was deemed too expensive.

Under the plan, the capacity for the airport would be downsized from its current 90 gates to 37 gates with airlines sharing the gates. The new terminal was projected to cost $1.2 billion and create 1,800 construction jobs.

Planners had considered rebuilding Terminal C but decided the A had better access to the main runway, fuel farm, cargo facilities and deicing and is "better situated with respect to sun and wind."

The Aviation plans to temporarily move American and United from Terminal C to Terminal A so it can make modest improvements to Terminal C to accommodate its increased use during the Terminal A reconstruction. Once Terminal A is completed, Terminal B would be torn down and Terminal C would be leased as office space.

On April 4, 2013 the city's Transportation Committee unanimously approved the plan. City officials said the airport would be paid with passenger ticketing fees; airline, concession and tenant payments; and other aviation funds. They said that the usual way for paying for such projects is by issuing municipal bonds which would require a vote of the residents of Kansas City. Kevin Koster, a Kansas City marketing executive organized opposition to the proposed single-terminal via his website SaveKCI.org and continues to promote public discussion of alternatives.

The City of Kansas City announced the closing of terminal A, in order to move forward with the 1 terminal plans. Terminal A closed on January 8, 2014, moving the airlines to Terminal C.

On June 11, 2014 the Kansas City Mayor's airport advisory board published their official recommendation for the city to proceed with a single terminal design

As of June, 2016, Kansas City officials had delayed plans for the new terminal, instead focusing on efforts to address the list of necessary repairs and renovations, due to low public support.

MCI vs. KCI

Despite requests from Kansas City, the airport has been unable to change its original International Air Transport Association (IATA) Mid-Continent designation of MCI, which had already been registered on navigational charts. Further complicating requests to change the designation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the time reserved all call letters with "K" or "W" for radio and television stations, so KCI was not viable.

In 1973 Wichita, Kansas, laid claim to the Mid-Continent name for its Municipal Airport (IATA: ICT, ICAO: KICT) after Kansas City abandoned it. However, Wichita had no luck in changing its IATA designation for the same reasons (including the forbidden "W").

The downtown Kansas City airport got around the "K" restriction because it was originally called Municipal Airport and so its designation is MKC and for added incentive it was in Missouri.

The "W" and "K" restrictions have since been lifted, but the IATA is reluctant to change names that have appeared on navigational charts. The "KCI" designation is also already assigned to another airport, Kon Airport in East Timor, so that one would have to change, adding delay and confusion.

Hubs

The airport is a crew base for Republic Airlines. Southwest Airlines also has many flights (68 daily on weekdays) and is the airport's largest carrier. It does not classify MCI as a focus city (and Southwest does not call any city a "hub"). Delta Air Lines carries the second-highest number of passengers at the airport, currently serving 10 destinations nonstop.

This airport was a hub for the now defunct Braniff Airways, Eastern Air Lines, TWA and Vanguard Airlines. It was also a hub for US Airways, Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines. TWA (through its successor American Airlines) continued to use the overhaul base until September 24, 2010 when they closed all operations at the overhaul facility, moved 900 employees to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and laid off the rest. Smith Electric Vehicles leased the facility in March 2010.

On February 10, 2011, Great Lakes Airlines discontinued service from Kansas City to Dodge City, Kansas, as well as Joplin and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The decision was based on decreasing passenger loads and sending passengers through their hub in Denver.

Accidents and incidents

Wildlife strikes

In 2009, the airport was reported as having the highest number of wildlife strikes of any airport in the US, based on take-offs and landings (57 per 100,000). FAA records showed 146 strikes in 2008, up from 37 in 2000.

The Kansas City Aviation Department issued a press release on October 15, 2009, that outlined its Wildlife Hazard Management Plan created in 1998 to reduce wildlife strikes, including removal of 60 acres (24 ha) of trees, zero tolerance for Canada geese, making sure grain crops are not grown with 2,000 feet (610 m) of the runways, and harassing wildlife to keep it clear of the airport. Furthermore, in 2007, the airport elected to enact a policy of 100% submitting wildlife strike reports to the FAA/USDA National Strike Database. When birds are involved in a strike, whether reported by an aircraft owner or operator, or the bird was found on the runway, feathers and/or DNA samples are recovered and sent to the Smithsonian Institution for positive identification. This documentation is conducted regardless of whether the strike occurred on or off the airfield.

In the reporting period of January 1990 to September 2008, none of the encounters resulted in injury to people and all of the airplanes landed safely. The report listed the most serious incidents.

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