Liz Aduhene reviews a recent documentary looking at air travel accessibility for the wheelchair-using community and how her research highlights this community to be resilient and relentless in their pursuit of accessible travel.

The issue of accessible air travel is once again in the spotlight and serves as a timely reminder as many of us jet off on our holiday breaks, that disability inaccessibility is an issue which some people cannot take holiday away from.

Sophie Morgan’s documentary Fight to Fly  which aired on Channel 4 on 22 July 2024, exposed the harsh realities wheelchair users faced when attempting to travel by air.  The documentary highlighted the inhumanity and discrimination faced by those brave enough to engage with the prospect of flight.

The documentary highlighted the issues facing wheelchair users by sending out groups of undercover wheelchair users and filming their experiences. They were denied boarding due to the weight of their wheelchairs, even though this weight was deemed acceptable at the time of booking. Additionally, once this issue had been resolved they were identified as the cause for the hour-long delay, by the pilots to the plane of passengers. Poor manual handling was witnessed; the inability to use onboard facilities, and lengthy waiting to disembark the plane.  All impacting on their safety and dignity. All of these issues will come as no surprise to the wheelchair-using community.

However, the documentary aimed to address those outside the community. A particularly poignant moment occurred when Sophie addressed a room full of Airport Assistance Service Managers asking how many identified as a person with reduced mobility (PRM). In a room full of able-bodied people, only one person did. Sophie emphasised how ‘frustrating it is to see people creating solutions who don’t understand the problems’, illustrated by her being isolated below deck at the after-conference event, while others were on the top deck.  The message clearly stated you need to include wheelchair users to solve these problems.

While the documentary highlights the challenges regarding wheelchair users accessing airline services, the implicit message was that wheelchair-using community have solutions, they just need implementing.  Which leads to the question asked by Frances Ryan (Guardian Columnist) ‘if this problem affected anyone other than disabled customers, would this multibillion-pound industry have solved it decades ago?’

The documentary not only exposed the inaccessibility of air travel but also went beyond merely highlighting the problems by offering solutions. This perspective aligns with current research, which is moving the conversation away from highlighting barriers and towards the co-creation of solutions with the airline industry and the wheelchair-using community.

The findings of this research highlight a community that is knowledgeable, innovative and actively seeking conversations with the airline industry as legitimate consumers. If you take away nothing else from Sophie in this documentary, remember that the wheelchair-using community is resilient and relentless. Accessible air travel will not become a reality without them being included in the conversation.

Liz Aduhene is Course Director  for MSc International Business and Lecturer in Global Business, in the Christ Church Business School.

Her research areas of interest are disability accessibility and inclusion across management and public policy, with her current research investigating the expectations of airline service quality from the wheelchair using community perspective.