KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travelers at the new Kansas City International Airport terminal had a largely positive reaction Tuesday, the first day of arriving and departing flights.
“It’s amazing what they can do,” Platte City resident Trevor Curtis said Tuesday. “Just flip a switch, and it’s the new terminal, so so far, very smooth.”
It was pure luck for Curtis, his wife and five kids to be departing for Puerto Rico out of the new terminal instead of the old one.
“When we booked our trip, we had no idea that that’s the day,” he said. “Then all of a sudden they announce it, we’re like, ‘Woah. That’s the day we’re flying out. Awesome!'”
Curtis said he’s very excited to fly out of the new $1.5 billion terminal.
“We were kind of nervous at first,” he continued. “But then with the setup, and we hear it’s going to be efficient and, yeah, it looks awesome.”
New flyers will leave for departing flights upstairs. You go downstairs to pick up your bags for arriving flights and get a ride.
“The old airport was just really pretty cool, just getting in and out of,” Kansas City resident Dave Bergman said after his flight arrived at the new terminal.
It also can be hard for people who have lived in the Kansas City region for a long time to get used to this. Bergman was on an arriving flight Tuesday with his wife Jackie.
“You didn’t have to go like an hour before you got there,” said Bergman, talking about the old terminal. “You could get here 20 minutes before and get on a plane, no problem.”
KC Aviation Department spokesman Joe McBride said he hadn’t heard of any major issues Tuesday afternoon.
“You’re transitioning from 50-year-old terminals where people would have left from that terminal and come back,” McBride said in an interview with FOX4.
McBride said there has been an effort to make sure Wi-Fi is strong throughout the new terminal. One flyer, who didn’t want to speak on the record, complained about that Tuesday morning.
“We’ve done our best to try to have good Wi-Fi throughout and also have repeaters where we’ve worked with the major mobile phone carriers to have repeaters throughout the facility to have strong cell services for mobile devices as well,” McBride continued.
The construction of the $1.5 billion airport hasn’t paid off yet. The airport’s paid for through parking, concessions and landing fees. McBride said if Kansas City residents don’t use the airport though, then you don’t pay for it.
