BTW, KCI ranks an abysmal 38th in passenger traffic due to not being a hub. It ranked better than 30th when a mini hub for Vanguard.
https://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports. ... ernational
STL used to be in top 10 at TWA peak and now it ranks only 32nd...
https://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports. ... rier=FACTS
KC is of course smack dab in middle of country and has hub opportunities now with new airport coming. But hopefully KCI manages to grab several smallish hub operations and not a dominant one as the latter means fares goes up.
The new KCI needs to be designed in a way that encourages airlines to operate as a hub from here over other airports - fewer constraints, easier to logistically operate, simplistic baggage handling that works (not overly complex like some airports), etc. than other mid-sized hub airports. This should be more important than how it looks. The looks can be updated over time.
BTW, we are now getting a new airport. Time to change the thread title.