KCI’s passenger traffic continues to climb

The Kansas City Aviation Department reported that Kansas City International Airport had its busiest February since 2008 and its eighth busiest February since the airport opened in 1972.

More than 733,700 passengers arrived and departed through KCI’s gates in February, up 8.8 percent from February 2015. February passenger boardings were up 8.7 percent, with a total of 367,669 passengers.

The increase continued a streak of 22 consecutive months of growth.

Aviation director Mark VanLoh said in a release that “it is clear that travelers continue to take advantage of new routes and low average fares.”

KCI also saw an increase of 8.1 percent in February in air cargo tonnage, which includes freight and mail transported by air, handled at the airport. A total of 15.8 million pounds of air cargo was handed at the airport. Air freight accounted for the majority of the total at 15.3 million pounds. Air mail accounted for the remaining 462,123 pounds.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 7:28 AM with the headline "KCI’s passenger traffic continues to climb."