January/February 2023 - 30

COVER STORY
commercial curb where the Ubers,
the taxis, the shuttles, the buses, the
charter buses will all pick up and drop
off passengers, " said Klein. " It'll be
a much better upgrade for our passengers
knowing they're at one spot,
instead of what we have now, as the
buses traverse the 2,200 linear feet of
each terminal. It should be a much
more efficient pickup for all our commercial
traffic. "
Similar to the smart technology
installed in the restrooms, the technology
installed in the parking garage
will help ease the stress of finding
available spaces.
" As you're pulling up to the parking
lot, it'll tell you which level and how
many parking spaces are available, "
said Klein. " Then, when you get to
that level, there'll be red lights and
green lights, so you'll know, 'Okay,
that spot I see down the way, it looks
like it's open,' but you'll know it's
open because it'll have a green light,
rather than you get there and you find
out it's a little smart car parked beside
two Ford pickups. "
The new terminal features several
amenities the airport does not currently
offer, including an air travel
experience area designed for passengers
weary of traveling. Passengers
can use this area to practice boarding,
taking off and landing via a simulator.
" We bought a plane. We've assembled
it in about a 500 square foot area,
so you can do a mock boarding, walk
down a mock boarding bridge, and go
Pictured is the new baggage handling system.
into a mock cabin, put your luggage
up and sit down in the plane, " said
Klein, noting travelers wishing to take
part in the air travel experience will
need to make reservations as space is
limited. " You can do a mock takeoff
with the windows and the flight attendant,
and then spend about 15 minutes
doing that and then landing and then
leaving the experience. "
In addition, MCI has added a USO
area for military veterans or officers,
a business center where companies or
individuals can rent out a room with
complete audio and visual capabilities,
a children's all-inclusive play area and
a quiet room.
" There's a lot of amenities our
All-new TSA screening area.
travelers currently don't have that
we're excited about for the future, "
said Klein.
30 \ AIRPORT BUSINESS / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
New Baggage
Handling System
MCI's new baggage handling system
is comprised of 16,000 linear feet
of conveying equipment and can
manage more than 2,600 outbound
bags per hour.
A single baggage handling system
by Vanderlande will replace separate
systems at each airline like those in the
existing terminals. In the new terminal,
there is one arrivals level baggage
claim lobby with seven carousels.
" The baggage handling system
is an improvement to the current
design through the introduction of
needed redundancies and additional
capacity, allowing for future growth, "
said Meyer.
Throughout the new terminal,
travelers will see a variety of handPictured
outside of the restroom is a water
bottle filling station.
Art pieces can be found everywhere
throughout the airport.
January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2023
