World's Worst Airport Terminals (Kansas City, Columbia: for rent, house, college)

[mike0421]

Wow, the NYC area took a thrashing here, and in my humble opinion, deservedly so. I have had the displeasure of traveling using all 3 of these airports. Just pathetic. And Ms. Segan is absolutely right outing the Port Authority of NY/NJ: just pathetic.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by xenokc

Turns out our opinions are pretty much moot as KC is essentially getting a new airport in the end, but will take 10 years.

An idea based on reasoning every bit as sound as that for our invasion of Iraq in 2003.

[traverone]

I have been and thru alot of airports and Kansas City's is one of best . I understand that the powers that be want to change it . why? Building a new one will not get KC any more flights

[pacificwhim]

"I hear Franz Kafka International terminals are full of despair and confusion."

And ENORMOUS cockroaches.

[pacificwhim]

I'm stunned that LAX didn't make this list. I lived in California for 44 years and fly back often for business or to see family, and I go out of my way to avoid it. It's outdated, dirty, the traffic is (naturally, being LA) a nightmare, and since none of the 7 terminals are connected, if you need to change airlines during a multi-segment trip, odds are you'll need to leave your terminal, walk along the huge exhaust-choked horseshoe, and go through security all over again. It's awful in every way.

[RDM66]

Originally Posted by mike0421

Wow, the NYC area took a thrashing here, and in my humble opinion, deservedly so. I have had the displeasure of traveling using all 3 of these airports. Just pathetic. And Ms. Segan is absolutely right outing the Port Authority of NY/NJ: just pathetic.

I flew through LaGuardia once about two years ago. It is an old, ugly airport that makes KCI looks like the Taj Mahal.

Surprisingly, the security lines through LaGuardia moved quickly. I was freaking out when I had to fly home to Kansas City. I kept thinking, "It's New York, so I'll be in a security line for about 10 hours." I showed up nearly 4 hours early for my flight, but they moved everyone through security in about 30 minutes. I had a lot of time to kill in that dump.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by RDM66

I showed up nearly 4 hours early for my flight

I think this is the problem that so many people in KC have with a new terminal. They "imagine" the absolute worst scenario they can possible dream up and then try to apply it to a brand new post 9-11 designed terminal in a mid sized non-hub airport like KCI.

Makes no sense to me.

I have flown to nearly every major city and rarely give myself more than a hour to check bags and go through security and it's almost always 10-20 minutes.

[westender]

I'll try to address this. I think there may be a kernel of truth behind these fears. Take, for instance, the current terminal C in Kansas City. The AA security line is within eyesight of the boarding gates. The gate agents can observe if there is a backup at security, and there will often be a hurrying of the passengers through security so the flight can board on time. I have never witnessed, in ~30 years of flying from MCI, passengers left behind because they were stuck in the security line. And the security lines at MCI are rarely more than 10 minutes long.

However, in the newer large box terminals, where central security is physically removed from gates, I often observe passengers in full meltdown mode because the security lines, centralized for dozens of flights, are not responsive to the most urgent passenger schedules. Instead of moving the security checkpoint staff as needed from gate to gate, as happens at MCI, the big box terminals require the passengers to walk or run to (sometimes distant) gates from a single checkpoint.

This results in big backups at busy times, especially between 5:15 and 6:00am. BDL, an airport I also use frequently, always has 30+ minute security lines on Monday early mornings. The TSA simply does not adjust its staffing appropriately for that hour, and the gate agents are too far away to know the conditions at the checkpoint. People who arrive at BDL any later than 5:15am will likely miss their 6:00am flights. This does not, in my experience, happen at Kansas City.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by westender

I'll try to address this. I think there may be a kernel of truth behind these fears. Take, for instance, the current terminal C in Kansas City. The AA security line is within eyesight of the boarding gates. The gate agents can observe if there is a backup at security, and there will often be a hurrying of the passengers through security so the flight can board on time. I have never witnessed, in ~30 years of flying from MCI, passengers left behind because they were stuck in the security line. And the security lines at MCI are rarely more than 10 minutes long.

However, in the newer large box terminals, where central security is physically removed from gates, I often observe passengers in full meltdown mode because the security lines, centralized for dozens of flights, are not responsive to the most urgent passenger schedules. Instead of moving the security checkpoint staff as needed from gate to gate, as happens at MCI, the big box terminals require the passengers to walk or run to (sometimes distant) gates from a single checkpoint.

This results in big backups at busy times, especially between 5:15 and 6:00am. BDL, an airport I also use frequently, always has 30+ minute security lines on Monday early mornings. The TSA simply does not adjust its staffing appropriately for that hour, and the gate agents are too far away to know the conditions at the checkpoint. People who arrive at BDL any later than 5:15am will likely miss their 6:00am flights. This does not, in my experience, happen at Kansas City.

Well, I have actually been in that situation before at MCI and had I been at any other airport, I probably would have missed the flight. Although I nearly miss every flight out of MCI because I don't want to spend more than 10 minutes there and so I cut things very close. I'm sure this is nice if you are running late, but I'm not sure it's enough of a reason to be against a modern terminal, at least that's my opinion.

It's difficult to put yourself in that position though. If you give yourself an hour, you will be fine anyplace and I have actually been able to jump ahead in a queue if you let TSA know your flight is leaving soon.

Either way, I much prefer a decent modern airport terminal with basic amenities than a bare bone place like KCI which forces me to do everything before I go through security like eating etc (typically off airport grounds) and then run off to the airport the very last minute and hope for the best.

So rather than stopping at a place at I-29 and Barry for a meal before I get to MCI and then stressing the entire time about my flight, I prefer to get to an airport 30 minutes earlier, get through security and THEN grab a bite to eat, drink etc and chill out before my flight. This is the "normal" way to travel IMO.

That's me though.

[luzianne]

Why does anyone need to eat an airport anyway, unless you have a long layover? If you are cutting it close and don't want to get to the airport until just before your flight leaves, why not eat at home before you leave for the airport? Eat an apple or a banana if nothing else, or carry on a snack that will tide you over till you get to your destination. I don't understand all the emphasis on needing a lot of restaurants at the airport.

Bare bones/easy in/easy out works just fine for me. I get to the airport, park across the street, walk over, go through security, wait maybe 30 minutes and get on my flight. MUCH better than Phoenix Sky Harbor, where I had to take the rental car back, catch a bus to the terminal, then wait in a very long serpentined line for security. Also better than Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Spokane, all of which I have flown to and from in the last year.

kcmo, is it really fair to the other people in line at other airports when you arrive late and get to jump ahead in the queue because your flight is leaving soon? I don't think so. I think you should get there in plenty of time and wait your turn like everyone else. If it were circumstances beyond your control that would be different, but just because you don't want to be at the airport for very long - well, neither does anyone else.