Since 2007, Kansas City officials have been devising plans for dealing with the inevitability of merging Kansas City International Airport’s (MCI) three terminals into one central terminal. This move is motivated by the excessive cost of upkeeping three separate terminals – including security checkpoints and retail and concession areas. Little legitimate progress was made on these plans until June 2014, when the mayor’s airport advisory board approved plans to officially begin work on the single terminal design.

Several construction and architecture firms vied to head this promising project – including Kansas City-based companies like construction engineering firm Burns & McDonnell and architecture company AECOM. Ultimately, in 2017, Kansas City voters approved a single terminal design by Edgemoor, an infrastructure and real estate firm based in Maryland.  

On the KCI-Edgemoor proposal site, Edgemoor representatives claim their ideas for the new terminal will “enhance Kansas City’s world-class reputation by adding a world-class airport that will spur economic development, increase the long-term capacity of M/WBE and local firms, and build the workforce of the future.”

The project stands at a projected total cost of $1.5 billion, with the city promising that the new single terminal airport will be funded through payments by associate airlines – not by taxpayers. Negotiations with both large and small airlines on the sharing of this cost has slowed progress.

As of January 2019, only five of the eight involved airlines have tentatively agreed to the proposed costs and scope of the project. To make the project more attractive to airlines, the new KCI will offer a 50 percent discounted lease on each airlines’ first gate at the new terminal.

Despite these negotiations about cost, Edgemoor completed a concept design, including photos, for the new terminal in August of 2018.

As of December 2018, the current design plans are intended to emphasize Kansas City’s heritage as a “hardworking, pragmatic Midwestern town with a forward-looking nature.”

Among the features being added to the renovated terminal are a town square filled with restaurants and gift shops, revamped restrooms and more spacious lounge areas equipped with in-seat charging. Edgemoor is also making good use of natural light in effort to reduce costs of lighting fixtures, resulting in features in the design plan like large windows and a glass atrium.

The new terminal will have 39 gates and span over 1 million square feet – making it the largest ever infrastructure project undertaken in Kansas City.

“I think [it] will not only be as convenient, I think it will be much more comfortable, much more open, much more inviting, much more accessible than our current airport,” Kansas City mayor Sly James said. “It will also be more active. There will be more light… it’ll be more open. It won’t feel like a dungeon in places.”

A city council meeting was held Feb. 28 where 12 council members voted on several components of the project, which included a 666-page development agreement. This vote passed 11 to 1.

Council member Alissia Canady was the singular vote against the agreement, citing insufficient evidence of a net benefit for women and minorities as was claimed as an outcome of the renovation in the documents.

“We fell short in a number of areas, and I just wasn’t willing to be a rubber stamp on this deal when I knew we left a lot on the table,” Canady said.

Project leaders have dedicated a $22 million portion in the total budget for the project to an initiative referred to as “community benefits.” Some airlines have suspicions that this hefty sum could be indiscriminately used for plans that are non-related to the airport.

Project leaders have affirmed that those funds will go to training for airport staff and amenities for workers like public transit and childcare. Another example of the direction of these funds is Edgemoor’s agreement to use female- and minority-owned contractors in the construction of the new terminal – the very issue for which Canady did not see concrete enough plans.

The project is expected to generate approximately 5,000 construction-related jobs.

A citywide celebration is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on March 25 when groundbreaking for the new terminal will begin. Construction is expected to conclude within the first few months of 2023.

KCI’s short term goal is to offer seasonal flights through Iceland Air from May to September. Their long term goal is to offer year-round Iceland Air flights. KCI believes that Iceland Air will allow Americans to have access to low cost European flights for holidays. KCI officials have lobbied international airlines to partner with KCI. Officials argued that KCI would be perfect for Iceland Air because more airlines are using smaller planes so KCI would have room. Kansas City Mayor Sly James endorsed Iceland Air as it would connect American and European businesses and markets. This would create stable jobs and grow the economy.

The decision to incorporate Iceland Air into KCI will hopefully attract more Americans to travel to Europe. This will potentially encourage Europeans to visit the Kansas City and KC metro area as well. Kansas City contains global businesses that operate in Europe as well as other parts of the world, so Iceland Air can help Kansas City’s economic growth.

Iceland Air can also help travelers by increasing flight competition as a low-cost airline. When Iceland Air opens in KCI it could potentially persuade other airlines to decrease costs leading to more flight options and cheaper airfare. It could also create a more competitive environment between KCI and other U.S. international airports.

The new airline will come after a $12 million construction project to revitalize the international arrivals and departure area. This is just one part of a $1 billion renovation to ease pedestrian congestion. Construction will begin in the fall of 2018 and is expected to end in late 2021. Plans have been made to eventually demolish Terminals A and C but have not yet been finalized. The new larger terminal will improve passenger mobility.

The new renovations may make it possible for KCI to attract additional international flight companies in the future.

Photo Courtesy of Travel + Leisure.

Brownback has not said explicitly that he would like KCI to close, but he would like to create competition that, if successful, would most likely lead to the extinction of KCI. He believes that Kansas is financially equipped to handle the venture of a new metro-area airport, whereas Missouri is struggling to support the travel hub that Kansas City’s location brings. Brownback also states that the Kan. government will benefit from an airport in ways Missouri does not.

“With more than 50 percent of (KCI) passengers coming from Kansas, we are exploring the possibilities of this project,” Brownback told the “Kansas City Star.”

Another positive for Brownback would be an enormous rise in employment. Right now, roughly 60,800 people have jobs because of KCI. If the major Kansas City airport were to be in Kansas, Brownback thinks that the budget, morale and, of course, employment, would rise.

According to prominent airlines, KCI desperately needs to be renovated. In 2016, Southwest Airlines loosely offered to finance a single-terminal system at KCI, and Kansas City Officials were open to the discussion. City and airport officials see the need for change.

The “Kansas City Star” spoke with the Mayor of Kansas City, Sly James and City Manager, Troy Schulte, both of whom who would both like revamp KCI.

“KCI in its current form is an out-of-date, inefficient facility that makes for an embarrassing front door to out-of-town travelers,” said a joint statement from James and Schulte. As James and Schulte are keen to point out, an airport in Kansas would be “the biggest Border War prize of all.” The “Kansas City Star” has been following the “Border War” since Brownback was elected. According to the publication, Brownback has won several businesses and jobs from the Missouri side of Kansas City and brought them to the Kansas side. The longer Kansas City delays renovating KCI, the more plausible a rival airport in Kansas becomes.

However, it’s the people of Kansas City who remain steadfast in resistance to renovation. When Kansas City voters did not show support for the KCI renovation project, James and Schulte were forced to halt discussions about the project. Frequent visitors of the airport are upset by prospective renovations, saying that KCI is unique and stream-lined. Renovations have been stalled for years as city officials wrestle with how to please their voters, meet the needs of the city and appease the airlines that bring the most business.

An inactive team on the Missouri side of Kansas City is good news for Brownback. Most city officials in Johnson County have refused to comment on plans for an airport, and most of the plans have been kept private. It is unclear where the new airport would be located, but experts assume that the metro airport would become an extension of the two smaller airports already in Johnson County: The New Century AirCenter and Johnson County Executive Airport. These airports are used only for corporate flights.

Most experts are skeptic of Brownback’s potential new airport, and many say it won’t happen. Even major airlines like Southwest that, push for KCI to be renovated, aren’t sure that a completely new airport is the right answer. According to city and airport officials, it is projected that 2018 will be the culminating year for either a new airport, Kansas City to start renovations or KCI to begin to lose business and revenue with no alternative options. Each option will be accompanied by change in the way Kansas City travels.