KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City International Airport is implementing additional traffic control officers to mitigate terminal traffic ahead of the NFL Draft.
Airport staff said it's unclear how many people will be flying into Kansas City for the draft, but expect flights to be 90% full or at capacity since airlines didn't add additional flights.
"We know that the new terminal is going to be the first and last impression for all the folks coming here for the NFL Draft by air and we're making sure we're all ready for all those folks," Joe McBride with KCI said.
Banners and video boards proudly displaying the 2023 NFL Draft logo can currently be seen at KCI.
Meanwhile, the arrivals curb at the new terminal has been a point of contention in the past for travelers, but McBride says additional officers will be on hand during draft week to ensure traffic flow is smooth. Their focus will also be on their commercial lanes, where passengers are designated to be picked up by ride shares and other forms of ground traffic.
"We've had some challenges at the curb that we didn't have so much in the past," McBride explained. "It's a learning curve for us as an airport operator, but a learning curve for a lot of the folks."
Sunday and Monday are predicted to be busy days for KCI with passengers expected to leave Kansas City during that time frame. VisitKC and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission expects 300,000 people will be in Kansas City watching their favorite NFL teams make their picks.
"We're working with the airlines, rental car agencies, to try to time it when we know when people are going to be here to make sure everybody's staffed up from from the airlines to TSA to our traffic control officers that are helping keep things moving at the curb," McBride said.
