“Wicked” actress Marissa Bode claims she was denied boarding a Southern Airways flight because she uses a wheelchair. The Marissa Bode Southern Airways denied boarding incident unfolded on Thursday as she attempted to catch a connecting flight to a speaking engagement in Pennsylvania.
Bode, 25, has used a wheelchair since a car crash at age 11. She took to TikTok to describe the experience as “awful,” saying the wheelchair discrimination airline staff displayed left her stranded.
Bode said her first flight on United Airlines went smoothly. When she approached the Southern Airways gate to locate her boarding pass, the interaction took an immediate turn.
“The two people at the gate look at me and they’re like, ‘Can you stand?’ And I said, ‘No,'” Bode recounted. “And they said, ‘I’m sorry, because of that we’re gonna have to deny you boarding'”.
Staff informed her that all Southern Airways planes require stairs for boarding. When Bode asked if disabled passengers had ever flown with the airline, she claims the response was “No”, adding that “even the elderly have a hard time getting up those stairs”.
Bode said her manager had coordinated with the airline beforehand and received full assurance she would be accommodated. At the gate, staff also raised concerns about her 35-pound wheelchair, which Bode noted is lighter than many passengers’ luggage.
“It is always something when I’m flying,” she said. “It is very rare that I’m flying and there isn’t a problem with my chair or I’m not talked down to”.
Unable to board, Bode had to travel by car for three and a half hours to reach her destination. She called the treatment “blatant segregation” and told Southern Airways directly: “You should be ashamed of yourself”.
Southern Airways released a statement saying the incident does not reflect its expected standards and that an internal investigation is underway.
