Former airport employee reflects on 1972 move from downtown airport to the current KCI
By Peyton Headlee
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — The move to the new KCI terminal is bittersweet for some long-time Kansas City residents.
It was Nov. 11, 1972, when the first flight landed at the current KCI terminal. Before that, travelers flew out of the airport downtown.
Jim Watt was there 50 years ago when those horseshoe-shaped terminals first opened up. He worked as a mechanic for Trans World Airlines.
“Those were the good old days,” Watt said. “I think about it often.”
Watt worked at the downtown airport for more than six years. He helped to move operations to the current KCI terminal 50 years ago.
“When they said they were going to move, well, everybody had to help get things packed,” he said.
He said the switch went smoothly, but it wasn’t easy. They had to move everything almost 20 miles north.
“It took quite an effort,” he said. “They had to take the airplanes, fly them up there so they’d be ready for the next morning’s flight. And, of course, they had to have all of the equipment on the line to take care of them.”
Watt went on to work at KCI for the next 25 years. He said it’s bittersweet to see the old terminal go.
“At the time it was built, it was excellent. But today, nobody would ever build anything like that again,” Watt said.
He said he’s excited to see the new KCI, calling it a destination airport.
“I’m anxious to see the new terminal because I hear it’s going to be kind of fabulous,” Watt said.
Watt said his daughter is planning to take him to see the new terminal once it opens.
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