Caught on the Airport and greater than 600 Kansas Metropolis space residents participated in a simulation check at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) on Tuesday.
The fashionable $1.5 billion new single terminal formally begins working on February 28, 2023, and can change a trio of 50-year-old terminals scheduled to host their final flights on the night of February 27.
Listed below are some snaps and observations from our go to.
The check passengers, all volunteers, had a wide range of itineraries and had been ta. sked with going by means of the steps of a visit. That included parking within the new 6,100-space parking storage, checking in on the counter, dropping off baggage, discovering their gates, and heading to the bags declare to retrieve baggage.
Space resident and check volunteer Barb Schulte obtained a “ticket” that had her flying from Kansas Metropolis to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She was instructed to convey an outsized bag that weighed at the least 20 kilos and had stuffed her bag with magazines, an afghan, and a pair of winter boots.
The 16-lane central TSA checkpoint space remains to be being accomplished, so vacationers didn’t must undergo the safety checkpoint expertise. Outlets, bars, and eating places will not be but open, both, however the volunteers might see that branches of many acquainted native manufacturers will likely be represented.
Vacationers additionally bought a primary have a look at facilities that will likely be obtainable to ticketed passengers, together with $5.65 million value of public artwork, all-gender restrooms, a sensory room, indoor and out of doors pet reduction areas, all-glass jet bridges, an inclusive play zone, and extra.
KCI’s dedication to inclusiveness consists of gender-specific and all-gender restrooms (all with pink mild/inexperienced alerts on the stalls to let customers know what’s open) in addition to 15 household restrooms and restrooms with each youngster and adult-sized altering tables.
Chairs and work tables all through the airport embody loads of energy ports. And we’re happy to see that the excessive work tables are outfitted with wi-fi charging spots.
Most check vacationers we spoke with had been, like us, impressed with all of the pure mild, the wide-open corridors, the elevated seating, and all of the facilities the brand new terminal will ship.
Airport officers will likely be reviewing the suggestions testers share in on-line surveys upfront of the February 28 official opening. However instantly it was clear that easy-to-fix points reminiscent of bigger and elevated directional signage could be useful in some areas.
We’re wanting ahead to returning in a number of weeks when the retailers and eating places are open, when the primary in-airport barbecue people who smoke are in use, when the stay music levels are working, and when 1000’s of passengers are taking off and getting back from adventures.
And we’re wanting ahead to studying extra particulars concerning the gate-pass program for non-travelers that will likely be rolled out by the top of the yr.
For now, the Metropolis of Fountains is certainly able to wow with a model new airport terminal.
(Keep tuned for extra tales from our pre-opening go to).
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