The city of Kansas City, Mo., Aviation Department reports that 11,503,936 passengers traveled through Kansas City International Airport in 2017, up 4.2 percent from 2016. December totals were up 1.9 percent from 2016 figures, with 914,509 passengers arriving and departing through KCI’s gates during the month. December passenger boardings were up 1.1 percent, with a total of 461,842, and up 4.1 percent for the year with 5,751,191 passengers enplaned in 2017.
“2017 finished as Kansas City International Airport’s third busiest in our 45 year history,” said Kansas City Director of Aviation Pat Klein. “This past year brought air new carriers, new nonstop destinations and competitive air fares. Kansas City-area flyers responded by traveling more than at any point since 2001.”
Air cargo tonnages, which consist of both freight and mail transported by air, for all carriers at KCI were down 3.2 percent in December with a total of 19.6 million pounds handled. For the year, 207.6 million pounds were handled, down 1.3 percent. Air freight handled at KCI during December amounted to 18.8 million pounds, which represents a year-over-year decrease of 3.7 percent. For 2017, air freight was down 2.6 percent with a total of 198.5 million pounds handled. Air mail for December was up 10.3 percent from December 2016 with 779,506 pounds handled. Air mail was up 39.0 percent for the year with 9.2 million pounds handled.
