Connection in MCI
 

It has been years since I had a connection at MCI (back in the YX days) but I remember that it was not good for amenities, such as restrooms, on the secure side and that food was not plentiful. I now have an upcoming connection through MCI on F9 and am wondering if things have changed, such as if there is a place to get a meal and use the restroom without leaving the secure area while making a F9 connection. Thanks in advance for your input and advice.

I was there last year and it was pretty much the same as the description you gave.

I believe they built new bathrooms recently, but you are correct that there is little in terms of dining on the secured side. Also, be careful not to walk directly out of the secured side unless you intend to; one of the doors is immediately across from a gate and a lot of people just walked right on out and had to rescreen.

What was a brilliant design in 1972 is now utterly bad due to all of the air travel security requirements.

I was there a few weeks ago and used a restroom inside the secured area. Even had multiple stalls.

Restrooms, pre packaged food and drinks are the only amenities offered inside security.

Thinking back to the mid 2000's none of that existed. Then the bathrooms were added. Following that concessions came.

Midwest didn't allow the airport to sell food, only drinks. As they wanted passengers to buy the onboard food.

Frontier allows everything to be sold. Overall, an easy connection provided things are running on time.

As much as I hate going through security, I wouldn't let this be the determining factor where I was going to eat at MCI if I had a reasonable amount of time between connections. Clearing security at MCI is not the same as clearing security at ORD or LGA.

If you've got a really long connection at MCI feel free to venture out.

I don't know about the food options in Terminal C, but when YX was in Terminal A, there was a great BBQ outside the secure area. It was worth the walk.

Thank you all for your assistance. I guess I was hoping things would have changed. I guess I was wondering if those of you with more experience would think that with an approximately 1:45 layover if that would be enough time to get to a good restaurant and maybe get an adult beverage (I haven't had good Midwestern, not to mention KC BBQ since moving to Virginia) outside of the secure area. Thank you once again for your input.

If you want to stay at the airport, in the recent past, there was a bar/restaurant outside of security that served a limited menu from Arthur Bryant's. I cannot recall what terminal this bar/restaurant was in or what it's name is/was, so if it still operates, it may require you to ride a bus between terminals. Maybe this is the place that RSVP references in his/her comments. I'm sure someone will give you a definitive answer on this.

I don't think I would chance leaving the airport if you only have 1:45 between connections. If you do decide to do this, there is a shopping area with restaurants that is south on I-29 called Zona Rosa. It has a Smokehouse Barbeque, but I'm not familiar with their offerings.

There is an Arthur Bryant's operation next to the AA gates (terminal C). But if you have time, it's only a half hour to downtown, and the original Arthur Bryant's is worth a detour at 16th & Brooklyn (about 1 mile east of downtown on I-70). They will wrap a half or full slab for airplane travel. Great for dinner parties in NYC!

You've got to ship the sauce separately or in checked baggage.

They had airport security in 1972, too. MCI's layout didn't make much sense then or now, especially as it was conceived as a potential transfer hub (the MC standing for Mid Continent). The designers prioritized minimal steps from dropoff curb to aircraft, but cost themselves a fortune in requiring multiple security checkpoints. Dumb then, dumb now.

To where? The airport is in the middle of nowhere, public transport is scant at best, and it takes forever to go get (and return) a rental car.

I'd hunker down at a landside restaurant (hey, they're all landside) and wait things out.

I think he meant outside of the secured area.

MCI had a phased opening, passengers started flying as early as 1969. Its design dates from the mid-late 1960s. VP Spiro Agnew hosted the official opening in the summer of 1972.

Airport screening of all passengers started in late 1972 to early 1973. Citation

President Nixon ordered all airports into compliance in December 1972. The proximate cause was hijackings. Before then security personnel (FAA) were performing traditional police work in airports, what we today might call profiling. There were no security checkpoints.

MCI was the last major airport built under the old paradigm.

Yes, that is what I meant.

If his connection is more than two gates away he'll have to exit security anyway.

Thanks for the dates supplied above... I didn't realize MCI had soft-opened as early as '69, but I knew it's been obsolete from a security-flow standpoint pretty much its whole life. It's kind of a shrunken DFW without enough floorspace to do DFW-style chokepoint checkpoints.

I believe that all of the F9 gates are in the same secure area now.

My brother flew MCI-DCA last month and made the mistake of waiting until he was inside security to search for food. He ended up buying a Rice Krispy Treat. Naturally, he was not thrilled.

Me too, There's not much else in the airport area.

Reason of design
 

KC built KCI for TWA and to there recommendation. TWA at the time was based in KC with over 10,000 employees. KCI was a total innovation and won awards from around the world. When hijackings started occurring TWA wanted millions of dollars in renovations done which the city could not afford. Thus TWA moved its hub based to St Louis. DFW's designed was based on KCI/MCI's. KCI's security lines are never more than 5-10 minutes long, so it's no big deal. The city would build a new airport if they had the money, the have long realized that KCI is a white elephant. But like everyone else, the city doesn't have the money to rebuild it. There's 90 gates, 30 gates per terminal. What the city should do is make one central checkpoint per terminal, but that could be hard to do because the total depth of the terminals is just 75 feet wide.

Thank you again and for sharing some of the history. So unless my flight schedule gets totally messed up, exiting and reentering the secure area should not be a problem.

And thank you for the reminder for not going straight unless I intend to exit. I think I did this the other time I connected through MCI while not intending (I saw a bathroom, was jetlaged from a flight from Australia, and in general, just all screwed up). It is something I will definitely keep in mind.

People make way too much about the security gate cluster of gates at MCI, the only issue if connecting is going outside the secure area and not being able to bring a drink through. Any flight from MCI to any point in the US, Canada or Mexico is 3 hours or less. Eastern Airlines and Braniff both ran over 100 flights a day during their days and people were just fine in connecting, of course that was before 9/11 and newer security. Plus, if the security lines get backed up any TSA gets people to the front of the line based on how soon their flights are taking off.

Well, if you can't get those things, remember that MCI has free, relatively fast WIFI. That is how I usually spend my free time there.

If it's on time. Add in the possibility of sitting on the ground due to w/x and it can be longer.

Not sure if you've flown yet, but if you're still looking at a longish layover at MCI (like 1:45) I would not hesitate to leave security and hit the bar/restaurant in the terminal, provided your arrive is not especially delayed. Been to MCI lots of times and have never had much wait at security. I would not consider leaving the airport. If you're interested in a bar/restaurant in a different terminal there is a free intra-terminal shuttle, but in my opinion 1:45 is a little tight to venture that far because you're at the mercy of that shuttle.

Leaving the secure area is a non issue, the only issue is taking a drink back into the gate. All you have to do is , if outside the secure area, is say my flight is leaving in 5 minutes and you're going thru security. KC has over 2 + million people and no one in that city wants the airport change. So no sweat.

I want to thank everyone for their savvy advice and let everyone know that it was absolutely no problem leaving and reentering security for a lunch.

BTW, if you want good microbrew, go to the Brewpub, which is the restaurant to the right (as you leave Frontier's gate area). You can get Boulevard on tap there.

Glad you didn't have issues with the gate setup. KCI/MCI is not difficult due to the security gate setup. People make more of an issues than it is. It's not the most spacious terminals and that design would never be used again in the building of a major airport, but it can work for airlines.

+1

The food isn't great, but it is well worth the hike from the other end of the terminal (for those not flying frontier) for that giant glass of Pale Ale...

Terminal A had better food choices when Midwest was located there. There was a place that served some great BBQ.

+1 The designers of MCI (designed in the 60's) obviously did NOT take security screening into consideration. They also didn't envision the development of major airline hubs (with many connecting passengers) either, as those didn't exist in the 60's with the exception of DL at ATL.

Due to the security requirements and the rapid development of hubs in the 70's and 80's, what appeared to be a "modern" design quickly became a dinosaur of an airport.

If you have an extended delay at MCI, I suggest taking the Marriott shuttle to their airport hotel. The restaurant and bar there aren't bad, and are definitely better than the airport options. The barbecue ribs are pretty good.