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MKC

Kansas City Downtown Tower

FAA Control Tower Kansas City, Missouri

Facility Information

Facility Overview
Identifier MKC
Facility Name Kansas City Downtown Tower
Airport Name Kansas City Downtown/Wheeler Fld
Type Tower
Level Level 5
Core 30 Airport No
Airspace & Operations
Hours of Operation 0000-2359 (always open)
Airspace Class Class D
Approach/Departure MCI
Overlying ARTCC ZKC
Airport Diagram Airport Diagram (PDF)
Location & Contact
View on full map →
Address 653 Lou Holland Dr
Kansas City, MO 64116
Phone Number 816-329-2880

Salary Information

2026 pay for Kansas City Downtown Tower, built from the FAA Air Traffic Specialized Pay Plan bands:

Career Level Hourly Min. Hourly Max. Total Pay Min. Total Pay Max.
CPC $39.57 $53.41 $82,575 $111,474
D3 $36.38 $39.57 $75,917 $82,575
AG $26.81 $26.81 $55,947 $55,947
Total Pay combines Basic Pay, Locality Pay. It excludes premium pay for overtime, nights, Sundays, and holidays.
Pay Factors
Facility Level Level 5
Locality Area Kansas City
Locality Pay 18.97%
Local Affordability
Cost of Living Index 92.5 (7.5% below avg)
Cost-Adjusted CPC Min $89,232
How this pay is calculated
Basic Pay (Level 5 CPC band minimum) $69,408
+ Locality Pay (18.97% of Basic Pay for Kansas City) + $13,167
= Adjusted Basic Pay (counts toward your High-3) $82,575
= Total Pay $82,575

Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar, so lines can differ from the total by a dollar or two.

ATC pay has stalled over the past decade. Marangos & Brown are on a mission to increase pay.

Staffing and Training

Staffing Information, July 2026
CPCs on Board 19 CPCs
CPC Target (CWP) 15 CPCs
Current Staffing 126.67%
↳ Est. Trainee Certifications+ 2.9
↳ Committed Inbounds+ 1
↳ Committed Outbounds- 2
↳ Placement List Outbounds- 1
↳ Projected Retirements/Losses- 0.3
↳ Developmental 33
Training Information, July 2026
Training Time (Avg) 0.6 years
↳ New Hires 0.75 years
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 0.21 years
Training Success Rate (Avg) 95%
↳ New Hires 100%
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 85%
Travel Days from Academy 1 days

Historical Trends

MKC Staffing Percentages

MKC Personnel Counts

MKC Training Metrics

NCEPT

NCEPT manages controller-requested transfers between FAA facilities. See MKC transfer selections on the Transfer Flow Map.

Eligibility & Staffing, July 2026
Staffing Source Academy Sourced
TSL (One Training Time) 87.49%
Gaining Target 100.82%
Possible Gains 0
Primary Releases Avail. 3
Secondary Releases Avail. 1
Transfer Activity
Releases, Past 3 Yrs 15
↳ Standard 15
↳ Priority/Other 0
Gains, Past 3 Yrs 0
Last Standard Release 0.4 years ago

Selections, 2016–2026

Gained 1
Released 26
Net -25
Top Origins SUS (1)
Top Destinations MCI (6), HOU (2), STL (2), T75 (2), ZKC (2)

Selections by Year, 2016–2026

Demand Trends

NCEPT Priority

Traffic

July 2025 - June 2026 (12 Months)
Tower Operations 86,184 operations/yr
Average Daily Operations 236 operations/day
Peer Group Median
(Lvl 5 Tower)
81,501 operations/yr
Relative Workload +5.7% vs peer median

Traffic History

Administration

Organizational Structure
Service Area Central
District Kansas City
HR Region Great Lakes

Nearest Facilities

MCI Kansas City International Tower FAA 14 mi
ZKC Kansas City ARTCC FAA 20 mi
OJC Johnson County Exec Tower FCT 21 mi
IXD New Century Tower FCT 26 mi
STJ Saint Joseph RAPCON DoD 48 mi
TOP Topeka Tower FCT 55 mi
FOE Forbes Tower FCT 59 mi
SZL Whiteman AFB DoD 62 mi
MHK Manhattan Tower FCT 111 mi
FRI Marshall AAF DoD 117 mi