KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City’s original airport “Kansas City Downtown Airport – Wheeler Field” (MKC) — previously titled Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport — which was dedicated by Charles Lindbergh after its completion in August 1927, has received approval for the final leg of its “Airport Master Plan.”
This now 98-year-old airport is home to around 700 daily aircraft operations from single engines to business jets, it is used for a variety of purposes including corporate, charter, recreation, flight training, air cargo and medical evacuation operations, according to its website. Its Airport Master Plan is a project, which began in 2023, and will soon feature a $55 million development with a fixed-base operation (FBO) led by Apex Aero Center, a 15,000 square-foot terminal, over 150,000 square-foot hangar, added office and maintenance space for business, government and general aviation use and expansion and a permanent location for Red Tail Academy — a Kansas City, nonprofit focused on providing education and mentoring for underrepresented youth in aviation, according to its website.
At its Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 15, Port KC motioned to approve a $500,000 loan from AltCap — a Kansas City launched, CDFI, financial institution offering services to under-served businesses and communities — to the MKC development, with AltCap paying interest payments to PortKC on a monthly basis on a 3.25% adjustable, quarterly basis, according to the Dec. 15 Port KC meeting. All of this, commissioners shared, will be allocated from the Economic Advancement Fund (EAF) program.
“The Downtown Airport is an incredibly important asset to not just the aviation department but the city as a whole,” Director of Aviation for Kansas City Melissa Cooper said in a press release. “This development shows the continued growth of MKC and its importance to the city as an economic driver.”
This phase serves as the final piece to the Airport Master Plan, which the Kansas City Aviation Department (KCAD) and the City of Kansas City have worked to execute — along with Coffman Associates, Inc., who the City contracted with to develop the plan — over the past two years. This plan works to highlight various aspects of improvement in need of monitoring, planning and developing over a 20-year period. Its goal — as highlighted in the proposal — includes to provide a set of guidelines for future development and maintenance moving forward.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends airports update their master plans every seven to 10 years, and according to its website, the last MKC master plan was completed in 2004.
KCAD has additionally selected Airside Innovation Missouri as the developer on this project and who will be in charge of constructing a new fixed-base operator for the complex.
Objectives
Included within its master development plan, is a set of objectives KCAD hopes to accomplish:
- “Maintain and ensure safety and security for airport
- Plan for phased, incremental development that meets foreseeable aviation demand and maintains flexibility for change
- Evaluate potential airfield modifications to meet FAA safety design standards and projected operational demand
- Produce airport layout plan (ALP) drawings consistent with federal aviation administration (FAA) standards that can be utilized in determining grant eligibility and funding
- Incorporate sustainability and environmental best practices into recommended plans”
Red Tail Academy
Another element included in the redevelopment of MKC is resource expansion and a permanent location for Red Tail Academy. Based out of Merriam, Kan., Red Tail Academy launched in 2020 with an initiative to expose, educate and mentor underrepresented — and primarily of color — youth within the aviation industry. This program was inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen, according to its website, who were African American and Caribbean military aviators who trained at the Alabama Army Air Field in World War II. These individuals were known to challenge racial stereotypes as the first Black U.S. military pilots.
“By expanding the Red Tail’s programs at the Downtown Airport, we’re helping ensure that young people — especially those from communities historically underrepresented in aviation — have a real and direct pathway into rewarding technical, mechanical and piloting careers,” Co-Founder of Red Tail Academy, Kerry Gooch said in a press release.
While PortKC approved AltCap’s loan, Kansas City City Council has not yet approved the final phases of the MKC Airport Master Plan, which will be required before construction begins.
Various ordinances in conjunction with this project appeared before City Council at its meeting on Jan. 8, including motions for the Director of Aviation to enter into construction-contract agreements with Ideker Inc., Brown & Root and HNTB Corporation, which were all referred to the City’s Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee meeting scheduled for Jan. 13.
If approved, KCAD anticipates construction to begin in 2026 with project completion in early to mid-2027.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
