A photo likely shot shortly after the Kansas City International Airport opened in 1972 shows the continuous curved interior of one of the semi-circular terminals.
Missouri Valley Special Collection
When they opened in 1972, the three semi-circular terminals at Kansas City International Airport were touted by their designers for the convenience of stepping out of your car and being to your destination gate within about 75 feet of the curb.
It was the perfect airport for a nationwide air travel network with few security measures in place to thwart hijackers.
That soon changed. On the day new terminals opened, a story detailing the opening shared the front page of The Star with the account of the hijacking of a Southern Airways jet that hopped around the U.S. and to Cuba while the plane’s hijackers made demands and threats.
Air travel in the United States forever changed after that high profile event. Within weeks of the opening of the KCI terminals, federal authorities announced new security measures that would change how people flew in the U.S. The changes drastically altered the ease which travelers could take a few steps from their car onto an awaiting airliner at KCI.
For a brief time, travelers flying out of KCI sat and waited for their flights in seats near the gates that were not walled in and secured from the rest of the airport. New security measures changed that.
The airport’s operators had to adapt the layout of the open concept airport to make a place where passengers could pass through a magnetometer to check for weapons and then those passengers who had passed through that screening had to be contained in an area off limits to those who hadn’t been screened.
‘ Drive to your gate’ was the credo of Kansas City International Airport’s designers. It was close to being true, particularly before the advent of metal detectors and other security measures. In May, 1973, six months after the airport opened, nobody had problems with crowds. File The Kansas City Star
The walled off areas cut off much of the free flow and openness intended in the airport’s original design. In the early days of the new security measures, most of the secured passenger areas had no place for awaiting passengers to buy food or drinks. Travelers had to leave the secure areas to use the restrooms and go back through the security check points to get to their gates.
Keeping magnetometers, x-ray machines and security workers at each gate drove up of the cost of operations at the terminals.
Vice president Spiro Agnew, at lectern, was on hand to dedicate the opening of the new Kansas City International Airport in November of 1972. Missouri Valley Special Collection
All three of the terminals at Kansas City International Airport ended up with parking garages to replace the single level parking lots at their centers. File The Kansas City Star
In 2003 the Vanguard Airlines boarding area at Kansas City International Airport had been stripped of everything but its sign after the Kansas City based carrier went out of business. Chris Ochsner cochsner@kcstar.com
Deconstruction of the old tower began in 1997 after the new air traffic control tower was put into operation at KCI. File The Kansas City Star
In 1998 travelers still depended on the pay phones at KCI. File The Kansas City Star
Air traffic is monitored from the tower at Kansas City International Airport. File The Kansas City Star
A photo of Kansas City Chiefs great Marcus Allen was placed on the wall of one of the KCI terminals in 1997. File The Kansas City Star
Airline passengers queue up at a security checkpoint in Terminal B of Kansas City International Airport in 2013. File The Kansas City Star
Because of the curvature of the KCI terminals, there is only about 75-foot visibility looking ahead, making many of the retail shops “out of sight, out of mind.” More retail areas have been added inside the secure areas but still not as many as other comparable airports. Jill Toyoshiba jtoyoshiba@kcstar.com
A rendering from 1969 shows the design of what would become Kansas City International Airport. File The Kansas City Star
A new control tower opened at Kansas City International Airport in 1997, right, to replace the one that was there built for Mid-Continent Airport in the 1960s. Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
Frank Pittenger, Director of Aviation during construction and opening of KCI. Kansas City Aviation Department
Ground was broken on the new Kansas City International Airport single terminal March 25, 2019. At the ceremony, former Kansas City mayor Sly James operated an excavator and hammered into the Terminal A building to start tearing it down. Then James came out and gave a thumbs up. Jill Toyoshiba jtoyoshiba@kcstar.com
What used to be known as the TWA overhaul base was part of the genesis for why Kansas City International Airport is where it is now. The base, which is still in operation for other airlines, was there before KCI was built next to Mid-Continent Airport. Braniff Airlines had a hub at Mid-Continent but the set up there was considered too small to be the city’s main airport. File The Kansas City Star
When Braniff Airlines closed their Kansas City hub, low fare carriers like Southwest Airlines helped bolster traffic at Kansas City International Airport. File The Kansas City Star
The TWA counter at one of the old KCI terminals. File The Kansas City Star
Air travelers check in at the United Airlines ticket counter at one of the Kansas City International Airport terminals. File The Kansas City Star
Some single gates at Kansas City International Airport had their own security checkpoints prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The design of the terminals made the airport difficult and expensive to secure. Missouri Valley Special Collection
A photo likely shot shortly after the Kansas City International Airport opened in 1972 shows the continuous curved interior of one of the semi-circular terminals. Missouri Valley Special Collection
The triple terminals at Kansas City International Airport were built to offer air travelers a short walk from the curb to the ticket counter and then the gate. The narrow design of the terminals made it easy to get to the gate but when travel demand was high or there were widespread delays, the limited space filled quickly. File The Kansas City Star
When Kansas City International Airport opened in 1972 the parking lots at the center of each of the semi-circular terminals were simple parking lot. Those lots were later replaced with multi-level parking garages. File The Kansas City Star
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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Visuals Editor Chris Ochsner leads The Star’s talented staff of photojournalists and video producers. He’s had his hand in directing visuals coverage since 2002. Ochsner led the visuals team in its coverage of four Super Bowls and two World Series.
