Kansas City Aviation Department

KCI Airport Welcomed 10.2 Million Passengers in 2011

The City of Kansas City, Mo., Aviation Department reports that Kansas City International Airport recorded 838,351 passengers arriving and departing through its gates in December, which represents an increase of 4.4 percent from December 2010.  For all of 2011, total traffic at KCI was 10,158,452, an increase of 2.5 percent from 2010.  Passenger boardings at KCI were up 5.4 percent, with a total of 426,838 during December.  For the year to date, boardings at KCI totaled 5,103,664, an increase of 2.6 percent from the same period last year.

The number of peak-day scheduled aircraft departures for December was 188.  Service was offered to 49 nonstop markets.  There was an average of 36,510 arriving and departing seats available in the market each day, down 4.3 percent from last year. 

“The 2.5 percent increase in passengers in 2011 is our best annual year-over-year improvement since 2007,” said Director of Aviation Mark VanLoh. “Passenger traffic is an effective economic indicator and last year’s gain is a testament to health of the Kansas City region.  With an expanding portfolio of airlines and nonstop routes at KCI, we expect this trend to continue through 2012.” 

Air cargo tonnages, which consist of both freight and mail transported by air, for all carriers at KCI were down 1.1 percent in December.  For the year to date, air cargo at KCI is down 1.3 percent from the same period last year.  Air freight handled at KCI during December amounted to over 16 million pounds, which represents a year-over-year decrease of 0.1 percent.  Air mail for December was down 30.8 percent from December 2010.  The all-cargo carriers reported five daily departures for December.