Kansas City’s New Airport Terminal Is a Glimpse at the Future of Air Travel

Just two weeks immediately after celebrating its Super Bowl LVII gain, Kansas Town is offering locals an additional key motive to beam with pleasure: a shiny new $1.5 billion airport terminal.

After a lot more than five many years of planning and construction, Kansas City Global Airport (MCI)’s solitary terminal formally opens on February 28—replacing the airport’s outdated trio of Brutalist concrete terminals, which experienced been in operation since 1972. The unique MCI opened about a thirty day period before the FAA commenced mandating bodily screenings of passengers in January 1973 (aka the dawn of steel detectors and baggage scanners), so the airport by no means seriously designed logistical perception in terms of stability processes, restaurant placement, and square footage.

The new terminal, having said that, is exactly what you would be expecting from an airport in 2023. There are individual ranges for curbside departures and arrivals. There are Clear kiosks and specified TSA PreCheck strains. A Delta Sky Club is readily available for people with lengthy layovers. And apart from a Dunkin’ Donuts counter at the primary entrance, all of the restaurants and bars can be found right after the protection checkpoints. (Seemingly fundamental functions, indeed, but ones you would not have observed in the three previous terminals.) 

Inclusivity at the forefront

But the upgraded MCI does a whole lot more than test a handful of common boxes—it shows what an airport should really look like outside of 2023. During the complete structure method, the Kansas Town Aviation Division labored closely with nearby businesses like The Full Human being, Variety KC, and Dementia Pleasant KC to assure the terminal was as completely inclusive as achievable. (“We regarded ADA restrictions to be just the starting stage,” mentioned Justin Meyer, deputy director of aviation at the Kansas City Aviation Department, throughout a media tour previous 7 days.)

Each information and examine-in counter is set at ADA-compliant heights restrooms function adult changing tables (together with toddler transforming tables) and visual paging boards alert deaf passengers of any flight alterations. Together with gendered restroom solutions, there is also an “all-gender” restroom in the terminal with more characteristics to make sure basic safety and privacy like ground-to-ceiling partitions in between stalls—a great possibility not only for gender-nonconforming passengers, but also anyone traveling with a caregiver of a diverse gender who does not want to individual.