Wicked star accuses airline of refusing to let her board because of her disability: 'you should be ashamed'

Wicked actress Marissa Bode has furiously accused the commuter airline Southern Airways of refusing to let her board because of her disability.

The 25-year-old has been reliant on a wheelchair since she was paralyzed by the injuries she sustained in a car accident at the age of 11.

She rose to fame in the two-part Wicked adaptation as Nessarose, the wheelchair-bound sister of the main character Elphaba played by Cynthia Erivo.

In a new TikTok video, Bode said that when she spoke to the gate agents of her Southern Airways flight, she was informed that they would be unable to seat her because all passengers had to climb stairs in order to board.

Bode insisted that she had been subjected to 'blatant segregation' by the airline, fuming that 'it is always something when I'm flying.'

She added when she called her manager, who booked the flight, he claimed the airline had 'assured' him his client would receive the 'accommodation' she needed.

The Daily Mail has contacted Southern Airways and a representative for Bode for comment.

Under the terms of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), airlines are banned from discriminating on the basis of disability, per the Department of Transportation.

Passed in 1986, the ACAA demands that airlines provide accommodations like 'prompt wheelchair or other guided assistance to board, deplane, or connect to another flight,' and that they must do so 'in a safe and dignified manner.'

However Southern Airways stipulates that its 'customers must be able to ascend and descend several steps to board the aircraft,' in its Contract of Carriage.

Because the airline's planes hold 28 passengers or fewer, the ACAA does not require that it 'provide mechanical lift devices for enplaning or deplaning,' the contract said.

'At certain locations, portable boarding ramps may be available as an alternative to stairs; however, ramp availability cannot be guaranteed. Guests may use canes, walkers, or other assistive devices up to the ramp.' 

Bode explained in her TikTok that she was trying to board a Southern Airways flight to Pennsylvania for a speaking engagement at a small town there.

Because the first leg of her connecting flight was with another airline, she had trouble finding her Southern Airways boarding pass online and asked gate agents for help.

'And the two people at the gate look at me and they're like: "Can you stand?"' the actress alleged in her video. 'And I said: "No." And they said: "I'm sorry but because of that we're going to have to deny you boarding."'

She was told that all Southern Airways planes required passengers to climb stairs in order to board, to which she replied: 'I've never heard that before. You're telling me none of the people that have flown on your plane before are disabled?'

Bode claimed that the airline staff responded to her query by telling her: 'No. Even the elderly have a hard time getting up those stairs.'

She told fans on TikTok: 'So why use it as a cop-out and be like: "Oh, they're just old planes"? Why are we once again waiting around for a disabled person to be present to even think about changing things or accommodating things? And even then, I know they're not gonna do it. And that's exactly what I said to him.'

Bode said: 'I was like: "Disabled people are not an afterthought. Why, knowing that disabled people exist, which y'all clearly often forget, do you choose not to update your planes?" And I was like: "This is blatant segregation."'

She alleged that the staffer at the gate then 'decided to grasp at straws' and claimed the point at issue was in fact the weight of her wheelchair.

Southern Airways' Contract of Carriage states: 'One wheelchair per Passenger will be carried at no charge as Checked Baggage if it meets sizing requirements. A second wheelchair is subject to standard Baggage Fees and charges.'

The document adds that wheelchairs are 'carried in the cargo compartment of the aircraft,' raising the question of if they can be brought as carry-on luggage.

Bode said on her TikTok that she told the airline staffer: 'My chair is 35lbs. I am heavier than my chair. My chair is probably less than other people's luggage.'

She claimed that the staffer 'realized what he said was bulls***' and started 'fumbling,' repeating to her that she would be unable to take the flight.

'And this is what I mean when I say it is always something when I'm flying,' said the Wisconsin-born thespian, alleging that 'It is very rare that I'm flying and there isn't a problem with my chair and I'm not talked down to.'

Bode said that while at the airport, she phoned her manager, who told her: 'I literally called them, talked to them on the phone, asked Southern Airlines if they could make that accommodation and they fully assured me and told me yes.' 

She said snafus like the one she alleged are 'more than just bad miscommunication. It is so much more than a "mistake" and an "oopsie." These are our lives. This is our entire existence you're talking about. My wheelchair is my freedom.'

Bode noted that 'of course when I'm crying out of frustration and talking to the people at the gate very firmly, I look like a crazy person. I look like the one that's in the wrong. I look like a f***ing Karen.'

That perception of her as a 'Karen,' she observed, was also 'how airport staff treat' her when she makes complaints such as: 'Hey, you told me I could board this flight,' or: 'Hey, you f***ed up my mobility device.'

Bode said she had to take a 'very expensive' three-and-a-half hour drive to her destination, in a TikTok captioned: '@Southern Airways you should be ashamed.' 

Southern Airways responded by saying that Bode's experience 'does not reflect the standard to which we hold ourselves,' in a statement to People.

'We are investigating the incident, and will take all appropriate action, including making any necessary improvements to our processes and training. We have reached out to Ms Bode to offer support and will work to address her concerns.'