Presley’s Place: The ‘Gold Standard’ for Accessibility in Airports

Pittsburgh International Airport is one of the first airports in the world to offer a sensory room for travelers, but its impact extends far beyond its city’s three rivers.

PIT’s sensory room, named Presley’s Place, is celebrating its fifth year of service at the airport. Airports across the world have since followed suit, helping travelers with autism and other sensory sensitivities to enjoy their journeys.

“Presley’s Place has kicked off a series of actions and reactions in which we can keep finding more that we can do,” PIT CEO Christina Cassotis said. “And we should because this place should work for everyone. We want to see more people experience the joy and the adventure of travel.”

Presley’s Place is named for Presley Rudge, now 9, who has autism. His father, Jason Rudge, a heavy equipment operator at the airport, wrote a letter to Cassotis in 2017 requesting the a