The Kansas City Air Travel Experience simulator gives passengers who are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with air travel the chance to test run the space in the days before a trip, and a quiet room offers a refuge for all travelers in need of a calming space. Every gate desk, check-in position and information desk is set to a wheelchair-accessible height. The city issued a resolution calling for the terminal to be “the most accessible in the world”, a goal that became a guiding principle for the design.

The development partners used a series of community meetings to engage with residents of Kansas City and its surrounding areas to determine how to create a terminal that would be comfortable, convenient and welcoming to all. All of these post-security spaces are on the same level to create an easier journey for passengers. Beyond security, two parallel concourses, with retail at the center, are linked by a pedestrian passage that provides sweeping views of the airfield. Baggage claim, customs and an outdoor public garden occupy the lower level, and check-in and security are situated just inside the entrance of the upper level. The terminal building is laid out across two levels – the upper for departing passengers and the lower for arrivals, each with its own access road and curb. The building’s 39 gates will be used for domestic and international travel, and its layout enables the facility to expand by another 11 gates in the future. The building consolidates all airline operations under one roof, with a 6,000-space parking garage just steps away, to improve the passenger experience for arrivals and departures alike. The redevelopment has replaced the existing, overcrowded terminals – originally opened in 1972 – with a single, sustainable building.

Kansas city airport terminals