- Marissa Bode was barred from boarding a Southern Airways flight due to her wheelchair
- The airline requires passengers to ascend and descend stairs to board or deboard planes
- Bode's manager was assured assistance would be provided during boarding and deboarding
On Thursday, Wicked star Marissa Bode posted a video on TikTok calling out Southern Airways Express for allegedly barring her from boarding a flight due to her wheelchair. Taking to the social media platform, she narrated the discriminatory incident she experienced right before she was ready to board a plane to Pennsylvania.
"I was denied boarding a flight because I'm disabled," Bode said. "I wish that were clickbait. I wish that were false, but that is what happened," she added.
Why Was Marissa Bode Barred From Boarding A Plane
She explained that she was struggling to locate her virtual ticket before boarding the flight. She asked the crew to help her, but instead of assisting her, the team told her that she could not board the plane.
The reason, she said, was her wheelchair. The American actor played Nessarose in Wicked (2024), making history as the first wheelchair user to portray a disabled woman of colour who also uses a wheelchair. She reprised her role in Wicked: For Good (2025).
Recalling the incident, she said, "So I got to the gate, and I was like, 'Hey, could you help me locate my boarding pass?'"
"And the two people at the gate look at me, and they are like, 'Can you stand?' And I said, 'No.' And they said, 'I'm sorry, but because of that, we're going to have to deny you boarding.' They proceeded to tell me that all the planes within this airline have stairs to get on the plane. Wild. Never heard of that before," she added, narrating her ordeal.
"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,'" the actor alleged.
Policy Of Southern Airways Express
According to the contract of carriage of Southern Airways, customers must be able to ascend and descend several steps to board or deboard the aircraft. It also states that because the planes can accommodate 28 or fewer passengers, the airline is exempt from providing mechanical lifts under the Air Carrier Access Act, a 1986 US law that prohibits commercial airlines from discriminating against people based on disability.
Despite this policy, Marissa Bode revealed that her manager had spoken with the airline beforehand and that she was assured assistance would be provided during boarding and deboarding.
Marissa Bode will be next seen in Snare, playing the role of a mycological researcher.
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