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SPECIAL EVENTS  
May | June 2026      AirportImprovement.com
MCI
June 26 is a day that staff 
and officials at Kansas City 
International Airport (MCI) are likely 
to remember for a long time. It’s the narrow 
window between FIFA World Cup 2026™ 
matches when one team’s wave of fans is 
leaving the city and another’s is arriving.
“Friday, June 26 
is going to be a day 
like we’ve never 
experienced,” says 
Justin Meyer, deputy 
director of marketing 
and air service at MCI. 
That single day is a 
snapshot of a much 
larger challenge. Kansas City, MO, is set 
to play a significant role in FIFA World Cup 
2026, hosting six matches and serving 
as a training base for four national teams: 
Algeria, England, the Netherlands and 
Argentina, the defending champions.
The airport is bracing for record-setting 
crowds, global travelers speaking dozens 
of languages and a level of operational 
complexity few U.S. airports has ever 
experienced. 
Planning for the Surge
Preparation didn’t begin with the World 
Cup lineup announcement in June 2022. 
“Engagement started about two years 
before,” Meyer says. “We were already 
working with the Sports Commission on air 
service capacity during the bid process.”
After Kansas City was named as 
one of the 11 U.S. host cities, planning 
accelerated quickly and MCI began 
conversations with airline partners to 
ensure they could accommodate the 
event’s legendarily large fan base. A 
total of 5 million to 7 million visitors are 
expected to arrive in the United States 
for the World Cup, which features an 
expanded 48-team format.  
The situation evolved in stages for 
MCI. First came the match schedule. 
Kansas City Int’l Sets Its Game Plan 
for the World Cup Travel Surge BY JENNIFER DAACK WOOLSON
JUSTIN MEYER

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