Marissa Budd has slammed Southern Airlines after she claimed she was denied boarding a plane because of her wheelchair, even though her manager checked with the company beforehand.
the evil The actress, who plays Nessarose in the big-screen adaptations, took to TikTok on Thursday to share her frustrations, saying: “I was banned from getting on a plane because I’m disabled. I wish it was trolling. I wish it was lying, but that’s what happened.”
Buddy explained that Southern Airlines is “very, very small” and that she had to use the airline as her connecting flight due to limited options flying to her destination in a small town in Pennsylvania.
While switching between flights, the actress said she was having trouble finding her virtual ticket before boarding the Southern Airlines plane. Once she reached the gate, she asked two employees for help. However, they instead told her that she was not allowed to board the plane because she was in a wheelchair.
“So I got to the gate, and I was like, ‘Hey, can you help me locate my boarding pass?'” Boddy recounted of the interaction. “And the two people at the gate looked at me and said, ‘Can you stand?’
She continued: “Why do we once again wait for a person with a disability to show up so that we can think about changing things or accommodating things… And that is exactly what I said to him. I was saying that people with disabilities are not an afterthought. Why, knowing that there are people with disabilities, which you clearly forget a lot of times, do you choose not to upgrade your planes? And I said to myself: ‘This is blatant gender segregation.’”
Buddy even noted that her manager “literally called them, talked to them on the phone, asked them [Southern Airways] If they could make this settlement, they would have absolutely confirmed it [her manager]Yes, before booking the flight.
According to Southern Airlines’ current contract of carriage, “Customers must be able to ascend and descend several steps to board the aircraft. Our aircraft seat 28 or fewer passengers and therefore are not required under the Air Carrier Access Act (Section 382.97) to provide mechanical lifting devices for landing or deplaning.”
After Bode’s TikTok went viral, she shared a follow-up video in which a Southern Airlines mobility director reached out to her about the incident.
“They called me,” she said. “The manager was intimidated. She was very apologetic and very understanding, which I really appreciate. They are doing an inside look at things and how this happened, again because we called ahead before booking, and asked about the accommodation. They are also currently in contact with me regarding how to make it better in the future.”
