Missoula airport earns national recognition as sensory inclusive facility
MISSOULA, MT — A new honor for the Missoula Montana Airport as it joins a select number of airports receiving national recognition. Missoula’s is the fourth airport in the country certified as a sensory inclusive facility by Kulture City.
For those with sensory sensitivities, airports can be noisy and over-stimulating environments.
The Missoula Montana Airport met all the marks in sensory accessibility, including specialized staff training and providing resources on sensory features for families and individuals.
“Our goal is just to make the building as accessible as possible for everyone. It was a newer initiative that we had not really heard of until last year, and since it's a new building, it's the right time to push forward with this initiative and any other that we might come across,” ground handling manager Andrew Bailey said.
Sensory sensitivities are often experienced by people with autism, dementia, PTSD and other conditions.
Airport officials say they are also is working toward a separate initiative called the Sunflower Program. The certification would offer additional education for airport staff in making the facility dementia friendly.
