MCI Airport

Location
Kansas City International is located 15 miles from downtown, located in Platte County, Missouri. It is one of the most convenient airports in the nation, easily accessible from I-29 and US-71.

MCI’s layout is very unique; three terminals are designed in the shape of rings, and each has its own short-term parking facility in the center. Therefore, passengers can easily park their cars, walk less than one hundred yards, and arrive directly at their gate. Similarly, arriving passengers can walk immediately away from their terminal without traveling through any corridors.

History
After the Great Flood of 1951, Kansas City was in need of a new airport. Instead of expanding the city’s Grandview Airport, a new airport was to be built on a site in Hampton, Missouri. Going by the original name, Mid-Continent, the airport went through a huge renovation and demolished the older terminals to make room for its current facilities, built in 1972. It was then renamed Kansas City International Airport.

The year 2004 included a $258 million renovation to the airport, giving the facilities a fresh face and upgraded amenities. New plans to converge the three current terminals into one has been included in Kansas City International’s Master Plan; this central terminal would hold a centralized security checkpoint, as well as a concourse for retail, food, beverage, and four wings to hold gates.