![]() ![]() The upshot of all this corporate hubris was that Kansas City’s new airport, intended to be a jewel of the Midwest and a true hub for international travel, was saddled from the beginning with inadequate terminals as well as few financial resources and little political will to do anything about them. Really, when considered from the perspective provided by half a century of hindsight, it seems a contretemps of staggering proportion, and one assumes there were no tears shed in city offices when TWA underwent Chapter 11 restructuring in 19, and eventually ceased to exist. And when Kansas City refused, citing already massive cost overruns, TWA moved its hub and headquarters to St. Soon after the terminals opened in 1972, in what can only be described as an act of unmitigated corporate gall, TWA insisted that their bespoke terminals be rebuilt. The advent of security checkpoints in the 1970s-which left no room in non-secure areas for ordinary passenger services such as shops, restaurants, newsstands or even restrooms-became something of a national fiasco. The resulting horseshoe-shaped terminals-each about a third of a mile long and just 72 feet deep with multiple entry points-were an operational challenge from the start. ![]() TWA vetoed “people movers,” deeming them too expensive. Consequently, TWA exercised a great deal of influence over the design and growth of the new airport, envisioning it as an international hub and the “future of flight.”įeatures insisted on by TWA included three single-level terminals with no stairs and a “Drive to Your Gate” terminal design with flight gates no more than 75 feet from roadway drop-off points. At the time-and through the 1970s-TWA’s corporate headquarters and “Kansas City Overhaul Base” was the city’s largest employer. ![]()
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