Wanted: ‘Awesome’, ‘amazing’ people to fill 800 new jobs when KCI’s new terminal opens
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New KCI terminal
Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal will open Tuesday, Feb. 28. Here’s what to know about the opening and flying through the new space.
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Hiring is underway as concession operators look to fill at least 800 retail, food and beverage jobs at Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal when it opens in a few weeks.
The second of four job fairs will be held Monday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kansas City Aviation Department, 601 Brasilia Ave., located at the airport.
“What we’re looking for is people that best represent our region in a warm, caring and inviting way,” said Lovell Holloway, general manager for Vantage Airport Group. “We want to offer amazing hospitality in this transformational project. We want Kansas City not to just be known for the airport itself, because it’s big and beautiful, but we want us to be known for our Midwestern values.”
In addition to bringing their “best selves,” job seekers should bring a valid driver’s license, passport or state identification card and their Social Security card or birth certificate, he said. They will need to pass a background check because they will be working at the airport.
“We’re looking for awesome and amazing people,” he said.
Those needing transportation can take RideKC’s Route No. 229-Boardwalk/KCI, which runs once an hour from the East Village Transit Center at 700 E. 12th St. in downtown Kansas City to the airport. There are stops within walking distance of the aviation department, including one near Bogota Circle and Brasilia Avenue.
Vantage Airport Group, which manages the concessions program at the new terminal, is hosting the job fair along with the concessions operators to fill a variety of full and part-time retail, food and beverage jobs.
The concession operators, which include Outstanding Hospitality Management and Marshall Retail Group, along with the smaller local businesses, will be the ones hiring the workers, Holloway said.
Hiring hundreds
The new terminal will have a total of 1,000 positions.
Employers have been working to transition about 200 employees at the existing terminals who will be displaced once the new terminal opens. There are an additional 800 jobs that have been created at the new terminal that now need to be filled. Because workers will be hired by the concession operators, they are not required to live in Kansas City.
To find the workers, Vantage Airport Group has been working with the Kansas City Aviation Department as well as with local community outreach programs like the Full Employment Council and community colleges in the metro, he said. They have also been working the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce.
“Though it may seem like a daunting challenge, all of concessionaires are up to that challenge,” Holloway said. “They’re hiring in their individual locations as well to try to get us fully staffed.”
Salary and hourly positions are open, Holloway said. Wages, which are determined by the individual concessionaires, are up to $20 an hour and are based on the worker’s skills and experience. The concessionaires also are offering benefits, ranging from dental to paying for parking.
“There’s many things that our individual partners are doing to make sure that they create a good environment for all of our new employees at the airport,” Holloway said.
Interviews will be conducted one-on-one, and workers will be able to choose where they want to interview.
For those who can’t make it Monday, there will also be job fairs on Feb. 6 and 13 at the aviation department. People can also go online to apply at www.vantageairportgroup.com/KCIconcessions.pdf.
“We’re looking for people to just come down and find the right home for themselves,” Holloway said.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
