Kansas City International Airport
Encyclopedia
Kansas City International Airport , originally named Mid-Continent International Airport, is a public airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, in Platte County
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...

, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In 2008, 10,469,892 passengers used the airport. Currently the airport serves 59 nonstop destinations and is the 32nd busiest airport (Nov 2011).

Kansas City International has consistently ranked in the top 5 airports in J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for...

 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. In February 2010 it was the highest rated medium sized airports receiving five stars in all categories In February 2008, U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

ranked the airport the "3rd least miserable airport" in the United States, based on the 47 busiest airports in the country.

The airport's largest carrier is Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

 which operates a large number of daily flights and serves as a small airline hub and crew base for Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...

 (Now operated by Republic Airways Holdings.)

The airport has always been a civilian airport and has never had an Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 unit assigned to it unlike many major comparably sized airports.

In 2009 the airport was reported as having the highest number of wildlife strikes
Bird strike
A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, avian ingestion , bird hit, or BASH —is a collision between an airborne animal and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft...

 of any airport in the United States based on take offs and landings (57 per 100,000). FAA records show there were 146 strikes in 2008—up from 37 in 2000.

Kansas City Industrial Airport

The airport (originally informally called Kansas City Industrial Airport) was built after the Great Flood of 1951
Great Flood of 1951
In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise of water in the Kansas River and other surrounding areas. Flooding resulted in the Kansas, Neosho, Marais Des Cygnes, and Verdigris river basins. The damage in June and July 1951 exceeded $935 million dollars in an area covering eastern Kansas and...

 destroyed the facilities of both of Kansas City's hometown airlines Mid-Continent Airlines
Mid-Continent Airlines
Mid-Continent Airlines operated in the central United States through the 1930s until merging with Braniff Airlines in 1952.The company was founded in 1928 in Sioux City, Iowa as Hanford's Tri-State Airlines by Arthur Hanford, Jr., who offered charter service and scheduled flights from Sioux City to...

 and TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....

  at Fairfax Airport
Fairfax Airport
Fairfax Airport was an airport in Kansas City, Kansas from 1921 until it closed in 1985. It is most famously associated with the construction of most of the B-25 Mitchell bombers....

 across the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 from the city's main Kansas City Municipal Airport (which was not as severely damaged in the flood).

Fairfax was the main hub for passenger and airmail traffic handled by Mid-Continent. TWA had its main overhaul base in 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 that could handle 10000 feet (3,048 m) runways and recognized that its expansion options were limited at the downtown airport.

At the time, Kansas City already owned Grandview Airport
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base. It is located south of Kansas City, Missouri. It was closed in 1994....

 south of the city which had ample room for expansion. However, Kansas City chose to build an entirely new airport north of the city away from the Missouri River following intense lobbying by Platte County native Jay B. Dillingham
Jay B. Dillingham
Jay B. Dillingham was a former president of the Kansas City Stockyards as well as former president of the Chamber of Commerce for both Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas.Dillingham was born in Platte City, Missouri...

, president of the Kansas City Stockyards
Kansas City Stockyards
The Kansas City Stockyards in the West Bottoms west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri flourished from 1871 until closing in 1991.Jay B. Dillingham was the President of the stockyards from the 1948 to its closing in 1991.-History:...

 which had also been destroyed in the flood. In addition to TWA moving its Fairfax plant to the new airport, it also moved its overseas overhaul operations at New Castle County Airport in Delaware to the airport.

The specific site just north of the then unincorporated hamlet of Hampton, Missouri
Hampton, Missouri
Hampton, Missouri was a small hamlet in rural Platte County, Missouri.The area around Hampton was picked in 1953 to be home for the Kansas City Industrial Airport...

 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 jet runways opened in 1956. At about the same time the city donated the southern Grandview Airport to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 to become Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base. It is located south of Kansas City, Missouri. It was closed in 1994....

.

The airport site was directly across U.S. 71 (now I-29) from the Red Crown Tourist Court
Red Crown Tourist Court
The Red Crown Tavern and Red Crown Tourist Court in Platte County, Missouri was the site of the July 20, 1933 gun battle between lawmen and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde and three members of their gang. The outlaws made their escape, but would be tracked down and cornered four days later near Dexter,...

 where outlaws Bonnie & Clyde engaged in a 1933 shootout with law enforcement which ultimately resulted in the death of Clyde's brother Buck Barrow
Buck Barrow
Marvin Ivan Barrow was a member of the Barrow Gang. He was the older brother of the gang's leader, Clyde Barrow. He and his wife Blanche were wounded in a gun battle with police four months after they joined up with Bonnie and Clyde...

 and the capture of Buck's wife Blanche Barrow
Blanche Barrow
Bennie Iva "Blanche" Frasure was the wife of Marvin "Buck" Barrow and the sister-in-law of Clyde Barrow. Buck and Blanche were part of the Barrow Gang from late March 1933 until their capture on July 24, 1933.-Early life:Blanche Barrow was born in Garvin, Oklahoma...

.

TWA's Kansas City Overhaul Base
Kansas City Overhaul Base
The Kansas City Overhaul Base is a manufacturing and maintenance plant adjacent to Kansas City International Airport.The plant at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s employed more than 6,000 people who worked on repairing the entire fleet of Trans World Airlines and it was Kansas City's biggest...

 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
Mid-continent Oil Field
The Mid-continent oil field is a broad area containing hundreds of oil fields in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The area, which consists of various geological strata and diverse trap types, was discovered and exploited during the first half of the 20th century...

).

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
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

. Jets had to make steep climbs and descents to avoid the downtown skyscrapers on the 200 feet (61 m) high Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 bluffs at Quality Hill
Quality Hill
Quality Hill is a historic neighborhood near downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, situated on a 200-foot-high bluff which overlooks the confluence of the Kansas River and Missouri River in the West Bottoms below....

, 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 while 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
Ilus W. Davis
Ilus Winfield Davis was mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, United States from 1963 to 1971."Ike" Davis grew up on the east side of Kansas City and in 1933 was in the freshman class of the University of Kansas City which was to become the University of Missouri-Kansas City...

 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
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...

, 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.

At the time the airport property was in an unincorporated area of Platte County. During construction the small town of Platte City, Missouri
Platte City, Missouri
Platte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...

, annexed the airport.

Kansas City eventually annexed the airport. Kivett and Myers
Kivett and Myers
Kivett & Myers was a Kansas City, Missouri architecture firm that pioneered the design of modern professional sports stadiums.Clarence Kivett graduated from the University of Kansas in 1928 and his first big design project was the art deco design of Katz Drug at Main Street and Westport in 1934...

 designed the terminals and control tower. It was dedicated on October 23, 1972 by Vice President Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

, but passengers were flying out of the airport since at least August, 1969. 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). Kansas City's two major hub airlines TWA and Braniff, along with other carriers, moved to the airport.

Many of the design decisions of the airport were driven by primary tenant 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 had the names of Mexico City Avenue, Brasilia Avenue, Paris Street, London Avenue, Tel Aviv Avenue and so forth.

TWA vetoed concepts to model the airport on Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...

 and Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...

 because those two airports had people movers which it deemed would be too expensive. TWA insisted on a "Drive to Your Gate" concept with flight gates only 75 feet (22.9 m) from the roadway (signs along the roadway identified the specific flights leaving each gate). The single-level terminals had no stairs. A similar layout was to be implemented at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...

.

TWA's flawed vision

TWA's vision for the future of flight which had been pioneered by the TWA Flight Center
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...

 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. Further, when security checkpoints began being instituted in the 1970s to stem the tide of 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 non-existent downstream of the security checkpoint in the gate area. No restrooms were available, and there were no shops, restaurants, newsstands, ATMs or any other passenger services available without exiting the secure area and being rescreened 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
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

.

Design

MCI passenger terminals have a unique structure comprising 3 terminals in the shape of rings. Each ring has short term parking in the center of the ring. Thus, it is possible for a traveler to park, walk no more than a hundred feet, and go directly to their gate. Arriving travelers can leave their gate, and walk immediately out of the terminal without passing through any corridors. The Kansas City 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 4th ring as well as a fourth 15100 feet (4,602.5 m) runway have never been built. Though, until the new rental car facility was built, one could see the foundation laid for the 4th 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 there was a charge of 25 cents to ride the bus. However following a massive outcry by travelers the charge was lifted and transportation is now free.

A similar airport design can be found at Berlin-Tegel Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...

, both in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Security

After the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....

 (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
FirstLine Transportation Security, Inc.
FirstLine Transportation Security, Inc., a subsidiary of SMS Holdings Corporation, is a company that provides predeparture passenger security screening and baggage screening services for the Transportation Security Administration at Kansas City International Airport , Kansas City, Missouri. The...

, an independent contractor who conforms to TSA's recruiting and training standards. TSA supervises these independent contractors, but they are not federal employees.

See: TSA Announcement of Private Security Screening Pilot Program

In March 2010 it was announced that the airport would be one of the first in the United States to have full body scanner
Security scan
A full-body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person's nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact...

s 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
360 Architecture
360 Architecture is an American architectural practice focused on planning, design and execution. The firm provides services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas and ballparks, municipal facilities, single- and multi-family...

, the following improvements were made:
  • Increased the size of each structural bay to provide larger vestibules, additional space for concessions, more public seating and improved customer service
  • The addition of retail space at curbside and airside to provide improved customer service
  • A more functional and cost effective signage solution that relocates associated mechanical ductwork to the apron level below, thus exposing more of the existing concrete and original structure while allowing more natural light into the concourse areas.


Other improvements include 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.

All three terminals now include blue terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...

 floors (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. Certain gate areas currently (2011) have no serviceable restrooms within the sterile area.

In 2006 the airport began offering free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

.

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

Kansas City International Airport covers an area of 10200 acres (4,127.8 ha) which contains three runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 194,969 aircraft operations, an average of 534 per day.
The airport has maintenance facilities capable of servicing and repairing aircraft as large as the Boeing 747.[8]

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, 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 multi-level parking structures on the inside fields of each of the "C" terminals—connected via tunnels.

On December 7, 2007, an update to the airport's master plan (required every 10 years for every major U.S. 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 the length of 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) has been proposed, as well as a fourth 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) runway just west of current runway 1L having also been discussed. The architects working on the new master plans are Landrum & Brown. A resolution will be offered to the city council in regards to the plan in the summer of 2008.

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.

MCI instead of KCI

Despite requests from Kansas City, the airport has been unable to change its original International Air Transport Association
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

 (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
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) at the time reserved all call letters with "K" or "W" for radio and television stations and so KCI was not viable.

Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

 in 1973 laid claim to the Mid-Continent name for its Municipal Airport
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is a commercial airport located in southwest Wichita, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA. It is the busiest airport in the state of Kansas . In 2008, passenger traffic continued to grow despite increased fuel prices and economic troubles, with 1,615,075 passengers...

 (IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

: ICT, ICAO
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...

: 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 Indonesia, so that one would also have to change, adding further bureaucratic delay and confusion to old air charts and digital navaids.

Hubs

MCI is currently a hub for Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...

. It is a crew base for Republic Airlines
Republic Airlines
Republic Airline, Inc., operating as Republic Airlines is a regional airline subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service as Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines and US Airways Express using a fleet of Bombardier Q400, Embraer 170, Embraer 175 and Embraer 190 aircraft...

. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

 also operates a high number of flights (68 daily on weekdays) and is the airport's largest carrier. However, it does not classify MCI as a focus city (as Southwest doesn't refer to any city as a "hub"). Delta Air Lines carries the second highest number of passengers at the airport, currently serving twelve destinations non-stop.

This airport served as a hub for the now defunct Braniff Airways, Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...

 and Vanguard Airlines
Vanguard Airlines
Vanguard Airlines was an airline based out of Kansas City, Missouri. For a time, Vanguard also had significant operations at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, until late 2000. It ceased operations on July 29, 2002, after filing for bankruptcy...

. It was also a hub for TWA and US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....

. TWA (through its successor American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

) continued to use the overhaul base, until September 24, 2010, when they closed all operations at the overhaul facility and moved 900-employees to Tulsa, Oklahoma and laid off the rest. Smith Electric Vehicles
Smith Electric Vehicles
Smith Electric Vehicles is the world's leading manufacturers of electric commercial vehicles; battery-powered vans, and trucks Smith Electric Vehicles has always focused on the commercial vehicle market – it does not produce electric cars and has never done so.In 2011 after its United States...

 leased the facility in March 2010.

On February 10, 2011, Great Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines , is an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters are located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with hubs at Denver International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran...

 discontinued service from Kansas City to Dodge City, KS as well as Joplin, MO and Fort Leonard Wood, MO. The decision was based on decreasing passenger loads and sending passengers through their hub in Denver.

At 10,000 acres (40 km²), MCI is one of the larger airfields in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In addition to passenger service, the airport is an active general aviation field, and a very active cargo airport. In 2006 it served 10.6 million passengers.

Transportation to and from the airport

While MCI is conveniently located on major highways Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...

 and Interstate 435
Interstate 435
Interstate 435 is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area in the states of Kansas and Missouri, USA.- Route description :...

, it is 15 miles (24.1 km) from downtown and even further from common business destinations in the southern suburbs. The paucity of other transportation options make renting a car the default option.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is a public transit operator in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the operator of the Metro Area Express Bus Rapid Transit service and 69 Local Bus routes in Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte Counties in Missouri and Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte Counties in...

 operates one public bus service to the airport, route 129x. It operates approximately 25 times per day, between 6 AM and 6 PM, Monday–Friday with no weekend service. Weekend service can be arranged by calling in advance. The bus operates between a stop in Terminal C (only) and the downtown bus center with intermediate stops. Systemwide fare is $1.50 [ as of 2011 - http://www.asaptransit.com/ ].

A number of private scheduled shared shuttle services operate from MCI to regional cities (including Saint Joseph, Missouri
Saint Joseph, Missouri
Saint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St...

; Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

; Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

; Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

); and military bases (Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood (military base)
Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941...

, Missouri; Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, Kansas; Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...

, Kansas; and Whiteman Air Force Base
Whiteman Air Force Base
Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south of Knob Noster, Missouri; east-southeast of Kansas City, Missouri....

, Missouri).

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 Kansas City International Airport in the north, to Swope Park
Swope Park
Swope Park is an 1805-acre city park within the city of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the 29th-largest municipal park in the United States , and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to the city in 1896...

, Starlight Theater Kansas City, and the Kansas City Zoo in the south, creating another transportation option for travelers in and out of MCI. This notion was later repealed by City Council in favor of a different proposal (which failed in the November 2008 ballots).

Rental Cars At KCI

The airport contains a consolidated rental car facility
Consolidated rental car facility
A consolidated rental car facility is a complex that hosts numerous rental car agencies. They are often found at American airports.- History :A CRCF exists at Newark Liberty International Airport, Dallas-Ft...

 located at the corners of London and Paris and Bern and London streets within the airport property. In each terminal there are a total of four rental car shuttle bus stops. The Rental Car 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 as to indicate where each shuttle stop is. The Rental Car Shuttle Buses are operated by First Transit
First Transit
First Transit, a division of FirstGroup America, is a United States-based subsidiary of the United Kingdom-based FirstGroup. It provides contract public transit and paratransit services, transit management services and transit consulting throughout North America...

 and REM Inc. The buses used for the shuttle service are 40 feet (12.2 m) Gillig
Gillig
Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...

 low floor buses. These are silver in color and indicate RENTAL CAR SHUTTLE BUS on the side. The shuttles come through the terminal every 2 to 5 minutes. Riding the shuttle is free of charge for all passengers and guests of Kansas City International Airport.

Incidents

  • December 21, 1978 TWA Flight 541
    TWA Flight 541
    TWA Flight 541 was a domestic passenger flight hijacked in the United States by Robin Oswald in an attempt to free Garrett Brock Trapnell, who was a prisoner at the United States Penitentiary, Marion...

     from Louisville International Airport
    Louisville International Airport
    Louisville International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport centrally located in the city of Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. The airport covers 1,200 acres and has three runways. Its IATA airport code SDF is based on the airport's former name, Standiford Field...

     to Kansas City was hijacked by 17-year-old Robin Oswald to Williamson County Regional Airport
    Williamson County Regional Airport
    Williamson County Regional Airport is a public airport located four miles west of the central business district of Marion, a city in Williamson County, Illinois, USA. The airport covers and has two runways. It is mostly used for general aviation, although it has scheduled service to Lambert-St...

     in Illinois in attempt to secure the release of Garrett Brock Trapnell
    Garrett Brock Trapnell
    Garrett Brock Trapnell was a con man, bank robber, and aircraft hijacker of the 1960s and early 1970s. Trapnell initiated a string of bank robberies across the United States and Canada that netted him in excess of $1,000,000 over time...

     who was serving time at United States Penitentiary, Marion
    United States Penitentiary, Marion
    The United States Penitentiary is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility located in Southern Precinct, unincorporated Williamson County, Illinois. The facility is located south of Marion, from St. Louis, and from Chicago. It was built in 1963 to replace the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, which...

     for the January 28, 1972 hijacking of TWA Flight 2 from Los Angeles to New York. Oswald's mother Barbara Oswald was killed May 24, 1978, after hijacking a helicopter in an attempt to rescue him (and Martin J. McNally who was serving time for the June 23, 1972 hijacking of a St. Louis-Tulsa American Airlines flight). Robin surrendered after 10 hours of at the Williamson airport.
  • February 16, 1995 - An Air Transport International
    Air Transport International
    Air Transport International LLC is an airline based in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. It operates worldwide cargo and combi charters for the express package industry and freight forwarders, as well as for the United States Department of Defense and the automotive industry. It also wet-leases aircraft....

     McDonnell Douglas DC-8 flight to Westover Metropolitan Airport
    Westover Metropolitan Airport
    For the military airport use of this facility, see Westover Joint Air Reserve BaseWestover Metropolitan Airport is a civilian airline, and general aviation airport located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee, Granby, and Ludlow, near the cities of Springfield and Holyoke, Massachusetts...

    , which had aborted a take off six minutes before because of loss of directional control, crashed on Runway 1L on another take off because of failure of the directional control when its tail hit the runway. All three on board were killed.
  • September 8, 1989 - USAir Flight 105 from Pittsburgh International Airport
    Pittsburgh International Airport
    Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...

     clipped four power lines 75 feet (22.9 m) above the ground 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) east of Runway 27 after making adjustments after being told by the MCI controller that lights were out on the south side of the airport. The flight then landed in Salina, Kansas
    Salina, Kansas
    Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...

    . None of the 64 persons on board were injured.
  • April 13, 1987 - Buffalo Airways
    Buffalo Airways
    Buffalo Airways is a family-run airline based in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada established in 1970 by Joe McBryan, also known as "Buffalo Joe". It operates scheduled passenger, scheduled cargo, charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting and fuel services...

     Flight 721 operated by Burlington Air Express cargo flight from Wichita-Mid-Continent Airport descending in a thick fog with half mile visibility clipped a 950 high ridge three miles (5 km) short of the runway. All four occupants were killed—the worst accident in the airport's history.

Wildlife strikes

In 2009 the airport was reported as having the highest number of wildlife strikes
Bird strike
A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, avian ingestion , bird hit, or BASH —is a collision between an airborne animal and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft...

 of any airport in the United States based on take offs and landings (57 per 100,000). FAA records show there were 146 strikes in 2008—up from 37 in 2000.

The Kansas City Aviation Department issued a press release on October 15, 2009 outlined its Wildlife Hazard Management Plan that was created in 1998 to reduce wildlife strikes including: removing of 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of trees, zero tolerance for Canada Geese, making sure that grain crops are not grown with 2000 feet (609.6 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 if 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 planes landed safely. The report listed the most serious incidents.
  • March 31, 2006 - Boeing 737
    Boeing 737
    The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

     struck a medium to large bird and damaged an engine on take off. It returned.
  • February 25, 1999 - a Learjet 35 approaching Downtown Kansas City Airport struck a flock of snow geese over MCI. One hit the co-pilot's window, and one was ingested into an engine shutting it down. It landed safely.
  • March 4, 1999 - A DC-9 landing at the airport struck a flock of snow geese ingesting geese in both engines shutting one down. The plane landed safely.
  • April 28, 2000 - A Boeing 727
    Boeing 727
    The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

     on take off struck a Canada goose
    Canada Goose
    The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

     destroying an engine. It returned safely.
  • June 10, 2005 - A DC-9 on takeoff struck an American Kestrel
    American Kestrel
    The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...

     stalling an engine. It returned safely.
  • November 14, 2009-Frontier Airlines Flight #820, an Airbus A319, struck a flock of Canada geese shortly after takeoff, resulting in loss of power to Engine #2. The plane made a safe return back to MCI.

Airlines and destinations

Kansas City Airport consists of three Terminals with an overall number of 90 gates (of which some are currently out of use): Terminal A (gates A1-A30, of which some are currently out of use), Terminal B (gates B31-B60) and Terminal C (gates C61-C90). Note SeaPort Airlines
SeaPort Airlines
SeaPort Airlines is an American regional airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. It operates scheduled service from its hubs at Portland International Airport and Memphis International Airport...

 does not operate out of the main passenger terminal; they use the private aviation terminal.

Cargo airlines

Top destinations

Busiest Domestic Routes from MCI (September 2010 - August 2011)
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, CO
Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...

499,000 Frontier, Southwest, United
2 Atlanta, GA
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...

421,000 AirTran, Delta
3 Chicago, IL (ORD) 306,000 American, United
4 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...

288,000 American
5 Chicago, IL (MDW) 265,000 Southwest
6 Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States...

217,000 Southwest, US Airways
7 Dallas, TX (Love Field) 211,000 Southwest
8 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 161,000 Delta
9 Las Vegas, NV
McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...

152,000 Southwest
10 Charlotte, NC
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...

145,000 US Airways

Popular culture

The Kansas City International Airport was featured in episode 63 of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

 television series Dirty Jobs
Dirty Jobs
Dirty Jobs is a program on the Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees. The show premiered with two pilot episodes in November 2003...

. The episode featured the Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

 baggage handling system and the airport incinerator. It originally aired on February 20, 2007. An episode later in 2007 featured Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe may refer to:*Michael Rowe, television writer for Futurama*Mike Rowe , host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs* Mike Rowe , retired Canadian professional ice hockey player...

cleaning out a paint truck at MCI.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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