Authorities give all clear, after travel disrupted at KCI for ‘potential threat’
Authorities investigated a threat that disrupted operations at Kansas City International Airport Wednesday morning, officials said.
The airport was closed for a little more than an hour before staff announced around 11:45 a.m. the airport was reopening.
The Kansas City Aviation Department and the FBI’s Kansas City office said in a joint statement that airport officials and law enforcement became aware of a potential threat in the unsecured area of the airport terminal Wednesday morning and evacuated travelers.
“Law Enforcement was able to determine no credible threat to the Airport or those inside the terminal at this time,” the statement said. “Once that determination was made, KCAD staff worked to resume normal operations and minimize disruptions.”
Incoming traffic at the airport was diverted away from the terminal around 11:30 a.m., and people standing outside were told the airport was closed.
A man could be seen in law enforcement custody around the time of the closure. Jackson Overstreet, a spokesman for the airport, confirmed that a person was taken into custody but said that situation was unrelated to the threat.
Kansas City natives Dylan Hufft and Lauren Ealey were coming back from vacation in Tampa Bay, Florida, and had to wait on their plane and then in the terminal for more than an hour for what their airline called a bomb threat.
“I was a little freaked out,” Ealey said about the situation.
“Just more uncertain ... like how long are we gonna be stuck here,” Hufft said.
The arrivals section of the terminal was flooded with waiting travelers because of the disruption.
Tennessee natives Micah and Jeremiah Morefield, traveling missionaries who were heading to Topeka, said they waited on their plane for about 35 minutes as their airline told them about the terminal evacuation. They went to research the issue on their phones and saw the news of a security threat.
“If we’re at an airport, and it’s a security threat, probably a bomb threat,” Micah Morefield said.
Their airline did not mention a security threat, so people were on their plane just waiting to deboard, they said.
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 11:35 AM.
