Pittsburgh International Named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative List

PITTSBURGH – Fast Company has named Pittsburgh International Airport to its annual list of Most Innovative Companies in the world, marking the first time an airport has made the list.

In recent years, the airport has started projects aimed at making travel easier for people with disabilities, including the addition of sensory rooms for those with autism and an app developed with Carnegie Mellon University to help blind travelers navigate the terminal.

Pittsburgh International is also working toward becoming the first airport in the world to be powered entirely by its own microgram. And last year, it started development of Neighborhood 91, a real estate development aimed at serving the additive manufacturing industry.

The airport is also in the midst of a $1.1 billion project to revamp its terminal. The project includes indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, more space for concessions, planning for automation and a focus on sustainability.

“This is recognition that we are thinking the way the world’s most innovative companies are thinking and we are producing results that rival the world’s best,” said Pittsburgh International Airport CEO Christina Cassotis in a statement. “Fast Company is a publication that is very much focused on innovation in all parts of the economy. They focus on how the world is being made better through innovation and technology and how that interacts with human factors. The fact that we are in the company of such innovative organizations – like Delta and Skift – is incredibly important to us and really very humbling and flattering.”

The Most Innovative Companies list, said Fast Company senior editor Amy Farley, is aimed at recognizing businesses that make an impact on both business and culture and thrive in a fast-changing world.

“At a time of increasing global volatility, this year’s list showcases the resilience and optimism of businesses across the world. These companies are applying creativity to solve challenges within their industries and far beyond,” she said.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.