KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Memorial Day weekend was the busiest the Kansas City International Airport had been since March.
During the month of April, KCI saw a 95.5 percent decrease in travel.
Low numbers are what airports have experienced across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to TSA, on Saturday, a little more than 253,000 people came through TSA checkpoints. That number was just over 2.12 million last year at the same time.
But since more stay-at-home orders are being lifted, KCI Spokesman Joe McBride said he's seen more passengers come through. He said right now, they're seeing about 3,000 to 4,000 passengers daily.
"For someone who’s been in the industry for quite some time, you know airports are about connections and you’re not seeing the hugging in the sending off as much as you’re used to," McBride said. "So that’s what sort of hurts if you will, but it’s good to see the numbers coming up and more people feeling comfortable traveling."
As summer approaches, he expects numbers to continue to increase.
There are a few things to keep in mind when heading back to the airport. Some security changes have been updated.
"TSA is doing all they can to protect passengers and also their employees so they want to limit touching and interaction," McBride said. "So when you go in to your boarding pass and ID, you don’t actually give it to them, you put it down on the scanner yourself so they don’t have to touch it and cross contaminate."
TSA will roll out procedure changes nationwide starting mid-June. Here are some other changes TSA implemented:
Separate food for x-ray screening
Passengers should place their carry-on food items in a clear plastic bag and place that bag into a bin. TSA states this requirement allows social distancing, reduces the TSA officer’s need to touch a person’s food container and reduces potential for cross-contamination.
TSA Precheck members do not need to remove items from their bags.
Pack smart
"Passengers should take extra care to ensure that they do not have any prohibited items, such as liquids, gels or aerosols in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces in their carry-on bags (water bottles, shampoo)," TSA stated online.
However, one liquid hand sanitizer container, up to 12 ounces per passenger, is allowed in carry-on bags.
Practice social distancing
"Passengers should allow for social distancing to reduce direct contact between employees and travelers whenever possible without compromising security. Noticeable adjustments leading up to the security checkpoint include, increasing the distance between individuals as they enter the security checkpoint, placing visual reminders of appropriate spacing on checkpoint floors and staggering the use of lanes where feasible. No two airports are alike, so this could look a little different at each airport," TSA said in a statement.
Wear facial protection
TSA officers will be using facial protection and are encouraging travelers to do the same.
When removing certain belongings, such as belts, wallets, keys and phones, you'll want to put them in carry-on bags instead of the bins "to reduce touch-points during the screening process."
TSA stated travelers who haven't flown since the pandemic are also likely to notice some other changes. Those include:
- Reduced security lane usage due to the reduction in passenger volume.
- All TSA officers at checkpoints wearing masks and gloves.
- TSA officers optionally wearing eye protection and clear plastic face shields at some locations.
- TSA officers will continue the practice of changing gloves after each pat-down.
- Plastic shielding installed at many travel document checking podiums, divest, bag search and drop off locations.
- TSA officers practicing social distancing.
- Routine cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces in the screening checkpoint area.
Be sure to arrive at least 90 minutes before your flight is scheduled.
For a look at delayed or canceled flights, click here.
