KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The New Terminal at KCI Airport marks its first week of operations, with some minor growing pains. Overall, the reviews have been positive.

The journey from planning to arrival wasn’t always as smooth. There were definitely times when city leaders had to face turbulence over the deal.

Former Kansas City Mayor Sly James explains when he joins FOX4’s John Holt on this week’s edition of 4 The People. Then, Kansas City’s Deputy Director of Aviation, Justin Meyer, arrives to talk about how the terminal is being received.

While outdated security made the old terminal a liability, it wasn’t the only reason Kansas City needed a new option, according to James.

“One of the more pressing issues was we were losing business because of it. We were struggling with maintenance because of it. We were struggling with passenger satisfaction and airlines started to decline bringing connecting flights in because of it. Those are all negatives indicating a change is needed,” James said.

James said Kansas City lost the Republican National Convention in 2016, because of the old terminal. He said Kansas City also lost NCAA tournaments and other business because of the condition of the terminal.

Then came the battle at the ballot box to convince people that the city needed a new airport. Kansas Citians were concerned about financing the new terminal.

Planning and building a new terminal is one thing. Marketing the new terminal is another job.

Justin Meyer is now in charge of making the most of the new terminal.

“Passengers are happy and it seems to feel like we did it,” Meyer said.

“We’re gonna learn a lot of things really quickly, like there’s not enough signage on the curbs for inbound passengers,” Meyer said.

Friday, the aviation department also learned that traffic can back up quickly if people arriving to pick up passengers don’t keep moving like they should.

Other aspects of the are working flawlessly.

“The security checkpoint’s been operating flawlessly. There’s not been lines. One thing we’ve learned in the evenings is the arrivals curb we need to become better at encouraging people to keep moving. We need that roadway to keep moving otherwise it’s backing up and causing traffic problems,” Meyer said.

To learn what else happened at the new terminal in the first week, watch the entire episode in the video player at the top of the page.

FOX4 brings you 4 The People, a special venture with new episodes airing on FOX4 every Saturday at 5:30 a.m. and posted online at FOX4KC.com.