KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In order to keep traffic flowing smoothly inside and outside the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport (KCI) during Thanksgiving, staff members are taking a new approach. Police and contracted security guards will hand out flyers to drivers who park along the arrivals curb for too long while waiting for plane passengers to exit the airport.
Drivers parked and waiting outside the terminal in the “arrivals” area have created backups since the terminal opened in February. Ahead of the terminal’s first holiday season, the airport created a task force to address issues like parking, cleanliness, and other operational concerns.
“If you’re sitting at the curb, you’ll be asked to move along, and we’ll throw you a bone by giving you a card to get you back to the cellphone lot from there,” said Joe McBride, a spokesperson for KCI.
Staff members are handing drivers flyers that include a QR code that people can scan to open Google Maps or Apple Maps apps on their phone, which will then direct them to the cellphone waiting lot. The handout also has written driving instructions.
The airport published a series of videos on its website that show people the route they can take to the arrivals and departures areas, the cellphone waiting lot, and many other areas. Airport personnel encourage people to watch the videos before driving to the airport, especially because many people may be driving to the new terminal for the first time this holiday season.
The cellphone waiting lot is located at 680 Brasilia Avenue. The airport plans to add more signage to help guide drivers to the lot. There will be an overflow lot next to the cellphone lot this week.
The task force implemented other changes this week: Color-coded balloons fly over the entrances to the TSA and TSA pre-check lines, more people are on staff to keep the terminal clean, and our crews saw employees replacing cabinetry in bathrooms Monday.
Additionally, the moving walkway helping people get between the terminal’s two concourses are now working. Two of the four walkways were inoperable for weeks because of what the airport called a “manufacturer’s defect.”
Overall, McBride said feedback about the new terminal is overwhelmingly more positive than negative.
“It’s more organized now, it’s easier to navigate. I also think the staff is more helpful with directions and being more precise on where to go,” said Kenzie Bailey-House, a Thanksgiving traveler.
KCI said the average wait time for travelers in the TSA checkpoint lines during Wednesday morning’s rush was six minutes.
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