Passenger Traffic at MCI Airport Plummets as COVID-19 Pummels Air Travel Industry

Traffic at Kansas City International Airport took a nose dive last month as residents came under stay-at-home orders to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Figures released Wednesday by the city’s Aviation Department showed less than half as many travelers flew in and out of KCI last month than in March 2019. Traffic in March was down by more than 40% from just the month before.

Traffic this year is down more than 20% compared to this time last year.

The steep drop-off coincides with the acceleration of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. and orders issued by governments and businesses across the country instructing residents to stay home and limit nonessential travel. Kansas City’s metrowide stay-at-home orders went into effect in late March. The area will spend all of April under those orders, meaning air travel could drop off even more.

“The pandemic has hit the airline industry hard worldwide, as stay-at-home orders and health concerns are keeping people from flying,” Aviation Director Pat Klein said in a news release. “While passenger figures are way down, the airport is still open should people need to travel. The entire airport team is striving to make the experience as safe as possible. We are here at the ready.”

Freight flights at KCI are also down, though they’ve fallen far less drastically. KCI handled 5.8% less air freight last month than it did in March 2019.

Meanwhile, construction of the new $1.5 billion single terminal is still “on schedule and has not been affected by the pandemic,” aviation spokesman Joe McBride said in a release earlier this week.

“The decrease in passenger and vehicular traffic has no effect on the overall timeline,” McBride said. “The project is self-contained so the ebb and flow of passengers, vehicles and aircraft have no effect.”

Because of the construction, McBride said, traffic flowing into the airport will reverse, starting Tuesday, April 28.

Previously, cars flowed around International Circle counter-clockwise, first passing Terminal A, the future site of the new single terminal building. Now, cars will enter near Terminal C and either proceed into that horseshoe terminal or continue on to Terminal B.

“Motorists are urged to drive slowly, be alert, read signs, and use patience and courtesy,” the release said.

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