Reaching new limits: the new Kansas City international airport opens on Feb. 28

The newly renovated Kansas City International Airport will hold its grand opening on Feb. 28 after five years of construction.

The current airport, built in 1972, has a lack of space, seating and food options, according to United Airlines pilot and parent Cooper Weeks. But the new airport — with a construction budget of $1.5 billion — will bring the capacity from 30,000 up to 50,000 people. With this expansion, the terminal will contain 50 new restaurants with 80-90% of them originating from Kansas City, according to Weeks.

Freshman Lily Ives hopes these new restaurants bring food variety in the new terminal, in comparison to the lack of options the airport had previously

“There needs to be new restaurant options because at the current airport there is nowhere to eat,” Ives said. “Everything is always closed or extremely crowded, and as someone who flies pretty frequently, this is very exciting to know that this will no longer be a problem.” 

East parent and frequent flyer Paul Stephens has similar feelings and is also hopeful for the new food options at the terminal.

“I’ve been to several airports that have tons of options and food is really good,” Stephens said. “KCI has terrible food and it is always very crowded”.

Weeks visited KCI on Feb. 14 to test out the new airport from a pilot standpoint. After arriving at the airport, Weeks and other volunteers went through the process of checking bags, the ticket counter, going through security and boarding to get a feel for the new system.

Weeks noticed several new amenities at the terminal that are upgrades from the original KCI airport, such as moving walkways and lots of windows. Moving walkways were installed from concourse A to concourse B to transport passengers more efficiently, and the windows installed provide natural light which, according to Weeks, is very pretty and improves the traveling experience. 

To additionally improve the traveling experience at KCI, security will be at one central checkpoint which aims to improve efficiency and decrease the cost of personnel. All restaurants and stores will be accessible after security and ticketing so that travelers won’t have to worry about going through multiple security checkpoints in order to get food.

Another addition made was to incorporate different art pieces from local artists throughout the terminal. The art will vary from modern ceiling support designs to a nod to KC being the City of Fountains.  As a pilot who frequents dozens of airports, Weeks believes the new KCI artwork will make the airport stand out in comparison to other airports across the nation.

“I think the artwork is a big shift from what I’ve seen,” Weeks said. “Every gate has its own theme of artwork which is very unique.”