KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City International Airport continues to try to rebound following the weekend blizzard.
KCI travelers found themselves waiting in longer lines than usual.
“It snaked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth; probably about five or six undulations," explained traveler Robert Lee. "I was in line for about two hours."
Lee, a Kansas City resident, was preparing to go to Seattle to attend his sister's celebration of life on Tuesday.
Just before KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa met him, Lee had to make the call to tell his family he would not be able to attend.
"It's heart-wrenching," he said. "I saw a lot of sad faces, including mine, wandering the hallways once they got through security."
Other travelers were forced to wait as the airport and airlines recover in the aftermath of a blizzard that's moved on from Kansas City.
"I decided to get a ride out here on Saturday, a day early," explained Calvin Ferkel, a U.S. Army specialist stationed in Colorado. "I figured I’d be here for a day. My flight was supposed to be Sunday."
The Topeka native parked himself on a bench inside the KCI terminal and spent time playing video games on his laptop.
"I get some entertainment out of it," he said. "There wasn’t much else to do but sit around.”
Around 6:30 p.m. Monday, lines at KCI began to diminish as the final groups of airline travelers made their way through security.
Travelers told KSHB 41 they believed the long lines stemmed from a lack of staffing at the TSA checkpoint.
Lee, among other travelers, said only a few security checkpoints were open.
"The way I heard it was they were really hoping there would be some more personnel there to make things go smoother, but the load was on them," Lee told KSHB 41. "They were trying to rush people as fast as possible and then people weren’t prepared. That put a lot of pressure on both the passengers and TSA."
KSHB 41 tried to speak with TSA's Missouri regional spokesperson to determine if staffing was an issue Monday but did not receive a response from the spokesperson by 10:40 p.m. Monday.
"I hope an opportunity comes for me to take some time off of work and visit my family in Seattle under different circumstances," Lee said. "When I look at the other folks here … maybe I’m not in such a bad situation."
Tuesday's travel is anticipated to remain heavy. It's recommended to arrive more than two hours before your flight is scheduled to leave.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.
