KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City International Airport had to close for several hours Tuesday night after debris from severe storms littered the airfield.
"There's a lot of debris on the airfield," KCI spokesman Joe McBride said.
Crews began clearing the airfield at 8 p.m. Tuesday and continued their cleanup efforts the following day. On Wednesday afternoon, McBride said crews were about 90 percent through the process.
LISTEN: Kansas City shows resiliency after devastating tornadoes
KCI brought out front broom sweepers to follow behind crews picking up debris. Typically, the sweepers are used during winter weather to follow behind snow plows for one final clean sweep.
The airport reopened shortly after midnight Wednesday, once crews were able to clear the runways and they were deemed safe.
KCI officials said pots, foam, wall panels and plant identification tags were spread over more than 15 million square feet.
They believe the debris came from tornado damage that happened in Linwood, Kansas, which is roughly 26 miles away following the path that the storm took.
"I've never heard of the airport being closed for debris," McBride said. "(The) only closures have been because of weather, but winter weather."
Tuesday night's severe storms canceled early morning flights on Wednesday.
"I can understand with the size of that tornado that was at least on TV, I can understand debris and all that. Not sure if planes are needing to be inspected or what. I was told debris on the runway," said Mike Lang, whose flight was canceled.
FlyKCI.com was also down for a period of time. Passengers are encouraged to check with their direct airline to see if their flight has been canceled or delayed.
