MCI Instead of KCI
Despite requests from Kansas City, the airport has been unable to change its original International Air Transport Association (IATA) Mid-Continent designation of MCI, which had already been registered on navigational charts. Further complicating requests to change the designation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the time reserved all call letters with "K" or "W" for radio and television stations, so KCI was not viable.
In 1973, Wichita, Kansas, laid claim to the Mid-Continent name for its Municipal Airport (IATA: ICT, ICAO: KICT) after Kansas City abandoned it. However, Wichita had no luck in changing its IATA designation for the same reasons (including the forbidden "W").
The downtown Kansas City airport got around the "K" restriction because it was originally called Municipal Airport and so its designation is MKC and for added incentive it was in Missouri.
The "W" and "K" restrictions have since been lifted, but the IATA is reluctant to change names that have appeared on navigational charts. The "KCI" designation is also already assigned to another airport, Kon Airport in Indonesia, so that one would also have to change, adding further bureaucratic delay and confusion to old air charts and digital navaids.
Read more about this topic: Kansas City International Airport