January/February 2023 - 31

COVER STORY
of staying focused on our end date and
staying focused on our budget, and
then not blowing the budget or the
end date, " he said.
Looking to the future, Klein said
Automated doors outside of the TSA screening area.
An artist painted
the four seasons
at different
locations
showing what
each place looks
like from the
air and on the
ground.
the work that went into this new terminal
should provide a better flying
experience for passengers. " It will
hopefully, mean more flights, nonstops
that we don't currently have, " he
said. " The fact that Southwest Airlines
told us in 2016 that they intentionally
avoid connections in Kansas City ...
that reason's now gone. Hopefully,
there'll be more flights for the passengers.
Then, we need to start looking
at, 'Have we got room for growth in
the terminal that we've built and what
does the future bring in the next five
to 15 years?' "
Klein said community feedback is
important to the overall success of the
project. Prior to the grand opening,
the airport will welcome volunteers to
come in and test out the new facility.
" We've asked for volunteers,
selected materials used in the construction
to provide a space that feels
airy and warm.
" The materials selected provide
a sense of place and deliver a warm
welcome to travelers in the facility, "
said Meyer. " From the hemlock ceilings
to the large-format Italian wall
tiles, to the custom terrazzo floor, the
facility provides a color palette that
is reflective of the region. The back
wall of the check-in hall is Missourisourced
limestone. "
Advanced planning for MCI's new
terminal started in 2008, but it really
got started in 2013 when previous
Kansas City Mayor Sly James set up
a task force with 25 business leaders
studying the case.
" That issue led us into a couple of
years of negotiations with the airlines.
From there, in 2017, we had an
election to see if the voters wanted to
allow us to move forward with a single
terminal, " said Klein. " That election
happened in November 2017 with the
76 percent positive vote, and then we
began in earnest with the project. $1.5
billion is what we've borrowed, and it
will be on time and on budget. "
As the new terminal project was
taking shape, it was important to
the design team that homage was
paid to the old terminal. This was
accomplished through the design
of an outdoor seating area for travelers
featuring two large horseshoe-shaped
benches.
" The North Courtyard, through
its landscaping and architecture, pays
tribute to the design of the original
terminals and their unique brutalist
architecture, " said Meyer.
Klein said with any project, there
are unknowns that pop up, but overall,
he is proud of his team and the way
they've handled them.
" The team's done a really good job
maybe somewhere between 500 to
1,500 volunteers ... We will set them
up, we will give them specific scripts
and they will be in charge of going
to do whatever's on that script. It
will challenge the building, the facility,
the roadways, the security, the
concessions, just to see 'Do we have
everything right?' " said Klein. " Is
the wayfinding in the right spot? Is it
informative to get to where you need
to go? Do people have any questions?
Then, we'll do a debrief at the end
with the survey, and then make any
course corrections that we need to
make, because something isn't as
intuitive as we thought. Hopefully,
when we open a couple of weeks
later, we've corrected for some of
those deficiencies that may have been
pointed out in the simulation. "
The airport received more than
12,000 responses looking for volunteers
to test out the new facility, and
Klein noted there is a lot of pent-up
demand to take a look at the airport.
" We think that says a lot for our
flying public here in Kansas City, "
said Klein. 
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 31
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January/February 2023

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