KCI airport has hundeds of open jobs as new terminal opens this month

The new $1.5 billion terminal at Kansas City International Airport is scheduled to open on February 28. However, many food service, security, bus drivers and retail jobs remain unfilled.

The biggest need is in concessions. Food and retail operators are looking to retain about 200 employees and hire 800 more. Vantage Airport Group, which is based in has a 15-year contract to manage the concessions in the new terminal. The Kansas City Council selected Vantage in part because it promised an array of local partnerships. Kansas City businesses such as Soirée Steak & Oyster House, Made in KC Marketplace, Parisi Coffee and Director’s Cut Take 2 are among the list of businesses that will be hiring in the terminal.

“We oversee the operators, and we also have several operators that are local businesses, so they’re already recruiting at their landside businesses,” said Lovell Holloway, general manager for Vantage, who is coordinating the Kansas City project. “Since the day we won the RFP, all of the local businesses participating with us have been gearing up and they also have employees that work for them who are like, ‘Hey, I want to work at the airport.’”

Concessionaires at the new terminal are offering up to $20 an hour. The average pay for food and retail employees in the old terminals is $15 an hour. Vantage Airport Group will be hosting two more hiring for retail, food and beverage jobs on February 6 and 13.

The city’s aviation department is also on the hunt for employees to work at KCI, mostly to fill existing positions that are vacant. KCI jobs include maintenance personnel, electronic technicians, security officers, traffic-control operators, custodians and bus drivers.

Bus drivers are especially in demand. Customers have complained about long waits for the buses that ferry passengers from KCI’s economy parking lots to and between the terminals The department currently has 18 vacant operator positions with a starting pay of $18.37 an hour.

The Kansas City Aviation Department is now hiring at the Kansas City International Airport. To view the available career opportunities and to apply, click here to visit the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s employment website and click on the “NEW TERMINAL” tile.

Current open positions include:

• Airport Police Officer
• Airport Security Dispatcher
• Building Maintenance Worker
• Bus Operator
• Bus Operator Trainee
• Maintenance Mechanic
• Maintenance Repairer
• Security Officer
• Traffic Control Officer
• Customer Service Representative
• Electronics Technician

Kansas City government’s residency requirement may contribute to the problem. The city requires all employees to live in the city, or to relocate into city limits within nine months of accepting a job.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice