Kicking the Tires on the New Terminal at Kansas Metropolis Worldwide Airport

Caught on the Airport and greater than 600 Kansas Metropolis space residents participated in a simulation take a look at at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) on Tuesday.

The fashionable $1.5 billion new single terminal formally begins working on February 28, 2023, and can change a trio of 50-year-old terminals scheduled to host their final flights on the night of February 27.

Listed below are some snaps and observations from our go to.

The take a look at passengers, all volunteers, had a wide range of itineraries and have been ta. sked with going via the steps of a visit. That included parking within the new 6,100-space parking storage, checking in on the counter, dropping off baggage, discovering their gates, and heading to the bags declare to retrieve baggage.

Space resident and take a look at volunteer Barb Schulte acquired a “ticket” that had her flying from Kansas Metropolis to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She was instructed to carry an outsized bag that weighed a minimum of 20 kilos and had crammed her bag with magazines, an afghan, and a pair of winter boots.

The 16-lane central TSA checkpoint space remains to be being accomplished, so vacationers didn’t need to undergo the safety checkpoint expertise. Retailers, bars, and eating places should not but open, both, however the volunteers may see that branches of many acquainted native manufacturers will likely be represented.

Vacationers additionally received a primary have a look at facilities that will likely be obtainable to ticketed passengers, together with $5.65 million price of public artwork, all-gender restrooms, a sensory room, indoor and out of doors pet reduction areas, all-glass jet bridges, an inclusive play zone, and extra.

KCI’s dedication to inclusiveness contains gender-specific and all-gender restrooms (all with purple mild/inexperienced indicators on the stalls to let customers know what’s open) in addition to 15 household restrooms and restrooms with each youngster and adult-sized altering tables.

Chairs and work tables all through the airport embrace loads of energy ports. And we’re happy to see that the excessive work tables are outfitted with wi-fi charging spots.

Most take a look at vacationers we spoke with have been, like us, impressed with all of the pure mild, the wide-open corridors, the elevated seating, and all of the facilities the brand new terminal will ship.

Airport officers will likely be reviewing the suggestions testers share in on-line surveys prematurely of the February 28 official opening. However immediately it was clear that easy-to-fix points corresponding to bigger and elevated directional signage can be useful in some areas.

We’re wanting ahead to returning in just a few weeks when the outlets and eating places are open, when the primary in-airport barbecue people who smoke are in use, when the reside music levels are working, and when 1000’s of passengers are taking off and coming back from adventures.

And we’re wanting ahead to studying extra particulars concerning the gate-pass program for non-travelers that will likely be rolled out by the top of the 12 months.

For now, the Metropolis of Fountains is certainly able to wow with a model new airport terminal.

(Keep tuned for extra tales from our pre-opening go to).