Asklemmy

Nope, it's still used, and has been for nearly 100yrs, I believe. It's basically just a general aviation airport. Charter flights and corporate jets still operate out of the downtown airport. Some local hospitals and TV stations keep their planes/helicopters there. I think some of the more high profile users are the Kansas City Chiefs NFL team and even Air Force One. So it's still very much in use.

That used to be the city's main airport into the 1960s. But with the advent of larger jets, it became difficult for them to takeoff/land safely due to the proximity to downtown, which is immediately south. It also doesn't help that downtown Kansas City, MO is situated on a bluff overlooking over the river and airport.

In addition, there wasn't much space for expansion. It's on that "peninsula," with the river to the west and south, and the the City of North Kansas City (this is a separate city from Kansas City, MO) immediately to the east.

There's always some talk, however, of potentially closing it down, especially because of the airport's effects on downtown development. Basically height restrictions to ensure that planes can take off and land safely.

But people (the users) generally like the airport. I've done some IT work there and the facilities are nice. If I had the money to charter flights, I'd definitely fly out of the downtown airport. It's so much closer and obviously far less busy than KCI. There's even a small plane museum there. Nothing fancy, but it's something.