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AirportImprovement.com      May | June 2026
SPECIAL EVENTS 
MCI
Then, months later, the tournament draw 
revealed which national teams would play 
in Kansas City—and when—as well as 
which teams would make their home base 
there. That’s when the planning became far 
more precise at the airport. 
“After the draw, we built a matrix of 65 
day-specific, route-specific opportunities 
and shared that with airlines,” Meyer 
explains. That matrix allowed planners 
to anticipate when fans from specific 
countries would travel. If a team plays in 
Kansas City, then travels to another U.S. 
city and returns days later, its supporters 
are likely to follow in a similar pattern.
“We know those fans are going to fly out 
and fly back on very specific days,” Meyer 
relates. The June 26 surge is driven by a 
tight schedule between matches—Tunisia vs. 
the Netherlands on June 25 and Algeria vs. 
Austria on June 27—that will create a rapid 
turnover of departing and arriving fans. In 
addition, planners expect a lot of Argentina 
fans to be based in the area that day. 
As of late March, American Airlines 
had added four flights—two round trips 
between MCI and both Atlanta International 
and LaGuardia International—specifically 
tied to World Cup travel demand. The 
airline is also planning to use larger 
aircraft on certain routes, with additional 
adjustments from other carriers expected 
as the tournament approaches. As a result, 
the Kansas City Aviation Department 
expects this June and July to be the two 
busiest months on record for MCI. 
Adding to the airline numbers are 
passengers not flying commercial. 
General aviation traffic at several local 
airports is being managed through a 
coordinated, region-wide planning effort. 
Kansas City has partnered with nearby 
FACTS&FIGURES 
Project: Preparations for FIFA World Cup Travel Surge
Location: Kansas City Int’l Airport, in MO
Key Components: Increased security; additional 
customer service staff; modified ground transportation 
routes; additional language translation services; 
phone-based support for guests with impaired vision 
or hearing; tabletop emergency drills; stress-testing 
baggage systems; contingency planning; theme 
products & menu items from concessionaires
Private Partner for Passenger Screening: 
VMD/Xcelerate 
Screening Technology: Rohde & Schwarz
Concessions Contractor: Vantage
On-Demand Assistance for Guests with 
Impaired Vison or Hearing: Aira apps
Baggage Handling System: Vanderlande

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