Inside Pittsburgh International Airport’s Efforts to make Air Travel Accessible to All

Take a glance at my Flighty statistics from 2024 and you’ll notice I flew a lot last year. According to the app on my iPhone, I took 15 flights—two of them cross-country trips—spanning nearly 17,000 miles, 9 airports, and 4 airlines. It was the most I’ve ever flown in my life—which is significant because I didn’t start flying with regularity until 2014. However frequent I have flown in the past year, however, one thing is assured: I have utter disdain for airports. The actual flying, I have no problem with; this aligns with my similar experience riding in autonomous vehicles like Waymo. My problem is the rigamarole of traversing the airport as a lifelong disabled person. Especially with security, it’s been my experience that, of the many airports I’ve been through in the last decade or so of getting on airplanes, none of them are particularly accommodating nor empathetic of the disability community. As someone whose anxiety and depression already is sky-high on the ground, the stress meter routinely runneth over each and every time I leave my house for the closest airport in San Francisco International.

It’s these personal experiences which attracted me to telling the story of Jason Rudge and his family. A heavy equipment operator at Pittsburgh International Airport, Rudge’s son, Presley, is disabled. In an interview with me conducted late last year via videoconference, Rudge explained Presley was put into a preschool readiness class when he was 2 years old. The class was designed for children with disabilities, and Presley had a hard time being there at first. He would tolerate being there only 15 minutes before having a meltdown. Rudge and his wife were prepared to leave with Presley before the teacher encouraged them to stay. There was a room, the teacher said, where Presley could go to calm down and readjust himself. Rudge likened the room to essentially being a “big closet” with amenities like bean bags, string lights, and a disco ball. The sensory room, as it’s known, proved to be revelatory for Presley, with his dad saying he “loved it in there” and eventually got to a place where he could actually be back in the classroom, now ready and willing to engage with his peers.

Working at Pittsburgh International is more than a 9-to-5 job for Rudge. It has a sensory room of its own called Presley’s Place—not to be confused with Pesky’s Pole in Boston. On its website, Pittsburgh International describes Presley’s Place as a “calming respite for travelers with sensory sensitivities and their families to de-escalate prior to getting on a plane or even after landing.” The airport has a video on its YouTube channel. According to Rudge, Presley’s Place is situated next to an accessible restroom, replete with sinks that can move lower or higher so as to accommodate wheelchair users.

Crucially, Rudge emphasized Presley’s Place isn’t solely for children or the disabled.

“It’s for everybody,” he said of his son’s namesake room. “[It’s for] first-time flyers [or] military with PTSD who doesn’t like to be in crowds. We’re trying to let everybody know this isn’t just for children. It’s not just for people with disabilities. It’s for everybody that really needs it… for people scared of flying or who never flown before and is nervous. You can go in there and calm down and get away from everything for your flight.”

Christina Cassotis, who’s chief executive of Pittsburgh International, explained to me Rudge came to airport leaders with the idea the place could benefit from having a special room similar to the one his son thrived in at school. She met with Rudge in person to discuss the concept, coming away so impressed by his thoroughness she told him “we were doing this” right then and there. What eventually would become Presley’s Place was a natural extension of what Cassotis and team were doing to further inclusivity, as she said accessibility and the notion of “travel for all” already was an area of intense focus at Pittsburgh International. Presley’s Place, Cassotis said, “really put us on the map nationally” when it came to accessibility and inclusivity.

“We believe very strongly in the idea of travel for all,” Cassotis said. “Pittsburgh International Airport is focused on improving the passenger experience, particularly for communities that haven’t always been at the forefront of the industry’s mind.”

Cassotis underscored Rudge’s sentiments that Presley’s Place is welcoming to literally anyone who needs to be there, telling me the room is “not limited to any single group.” She did concede, however, Presley’s Place is “geared towards” individuals with sensory sensitivities such as those coping with autism, as well as others in the neurodivergent community. What’s more, there’s even a cabin installation, complete with jetway, so that nervous passengers are able to “understand what a flight is like.”

“Sensory rooms like [Presley’s Place] mean the difference between an individual or a family being able to travel at all,” Cassotis said.

Presley’s Place celebrated its 5-year anniversary not long ago, with Rudge and Cassotis both marveling at the room’s success. Rudge said it’s a “great thing” to consider how far Presley’s Place has come in the last few years, telling me the airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan (and in San Francisco) have incorporated similarly-modeled sensory rooms. Cassotis reiterated Pittsburgh International being a “proud national leader” in accessibility and inclusivity, telling me the airport has received numerous inquiries from other airports on how Presley’s Place was designed and developed.

“Every aspect of the design was considered because we spoke to affected individuals directly and got their input—adults, children and families,” Cassotis said.

She added: “Presley’s Place is industry-leading. [It’s] been recognized across the world as the most comprehensive sensory-friendly space anywhere in the travel industry.”

Rudge firmly believes Pittsburgh International “hit the nail on the head” with building Presley’s Place. It’s the best room of its kind he’s seen anywhere; he told me he’s heartened to know other airports are following Pittsburgh’s innovative lead in this realm. He hopes every airport in the world can someday have its own Presley’s Place.

“The feedback on [Presley’s Place] sensory room in particular has been fantastic,” Cassotis said of the room’s reception. “We hear from travelers all the time thanking us for the room and our role in helping make someone’s trip better. Travel for all is really at the heart of what we do as part of passenger experience.”

As to the future, Cassotis said. Pittsburgh International will “continue to be a leader in accessibility,” adding she’s “so proud” of staff who worked so diligently on Presley’s Place. She called Rusge’s brainstorm “truly grassroots” and lauded the airport’s work in working with autism awareness groups to carefully select appropriate fixtures such as furniture, lighting, and more. Funds for the project came from “sizable donations” from local groups, as well as stuff like furniture being happily donated for the room.

Hundreds of passengers visit Presley’s Place annually, according to Cassotis. She added airport leaders are “constantly [hearing] from them how key” Presley’s Place is to shaping a positive experience while passing through Pittsburgh International.