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").
In 2016, Wichita Mid-Continent was renamed Eisenhower National Airport.

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 East Timor, so that one would have to change, adding delay and confusion.
Nearby New Century AirCenter also carries the IATA code JCI (although the FAA refers to it as IXD and the ICAO as KIXD), which could also lead to confusion.
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"). In 2016, Wichita Mid-Continent was renamed Eisenhower National Airport.
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 East Timor, so that one would have to change, adding delay and confusion. Nearby New Century AirCenter also carries the IATA code JCI (although the FAA refers to it as IXD and the ICAO as KIXD), which could also lead to confusion.
Kansas City International Airport