Marissa Bode says the airline that recently prevented her from boarding a flight because she was disabled has contacted her.
“Before there is any more media coverage of this situation, I wanted to do an update video,” the “Wicked” star said in a TikTok video posted Sunday. “I was contacted by the director of Southern [Airways] within the mobility department.”
According to Bode, who played Elphaba's sister Nessarose in Jon M. Chu's musical duology, the airline director “was mortified” by what happened and was also very apologetic and “very understanding.” The actress was informed that the company is conducting an internal review of the situation, especially since, as Bode has repeatedly mentioned, her manager had called the airline ahead of time to confirm that arrangements could be made before booking her trip.
Bode added that the airline is keeping in touch with her to find out how it can improve in the future.
“I told him [the director] over the phone, I don't want to make money off of this,” Bode said. “I really, really just want to make it better for disabled travelers in the future. Apart from just me. … They're doing the right thing in terms of figuring out how to rectify it.”
In his TikTok video on Thursday, Bode criticized Southern Airways. He said it prevented him from boarding a flight to give a lecture in a small town in Pennsylvania.
“I was denied boarding on a flight because I am disabled,” she said. “I wish it was click bait. I wish it was fake, but that's what happened.”
Bode explained that he had been unable to locate his virtual boarding pass for his connecting flight, so he approached the crew at the gate for help. The two officers at the door saw that he was in a wheelchair and asked him if he could stand up.
“I said 'No,'” Bode said in the video. “And they told me: 'I'm sorry, but that's why we're going to have to deny you boarding.'”
According to the actress, employees told her that passengers had to be able to climb stairs to board the small plane used for the flight. They even added that some older passengers struggle with stairs.
The Air Transportation Access Act prohibits commercial airlines from discriminating against passengers with disabilities. Southern Airways states in its contract of carriage that “customers must be able to ascend and descend multiple steps to board the aircraft” and that they are “not required… to provide mechanical lifting devices for boarding or deplaning” as described in the ACAA because their aircraft “seat 28 passengers or less.”
Bode called it “blatant segregation” for airlines to use the age or size of their planes to justify why a flight is inaccessible instead of making changes.
“Why, once again, are we waiting for a disabled person to be present to even think about changing or accommodating things?” Bode said in his opening video. “Disabled people are not an afterthought. Why, knowing that disabled people exist, something you clearly often forget, do you choose not to upgrade your airplanes?”
In his update, Bode praised Southern Airways for its handling of the situation since the initial incident. He also called on other airlines to “do better”, not only by contacting disabled people to discuss “how to rectify the situation” after something happens, but also by “hiring them… to figure out how we can make things accessible”.
“I just want things to be better for disabled people in the future,” Bode said. “At least it seems like Southern, so far, is dedicated to doing it… I really appreciate how responsive they've been.”
