Last night, Channel 4 aired “Sophie Morgan’s Fight to Fly,” a gripping documentary exposing the shocking realities Disabled people face when traveling by air. Hosted by Sophie Morgan, the programme highlights systemic neglect and discrimination within the airline industry.
The searing investigation includes many scenes that people will find distressing – from wheelchairs being damaged, a man forced to drag himself along a plane floor, and women being manhandled out of their wheelchairs, all compounded by online abuse Sophie Morgan faces for speaking out about these issues.
As upsetting as these events are to watch, Frances Ryan summed it up in her review in the Guardian ‘If this were a documentary aimed solely at Disabled viewers, it would be rounded up in 15 minutes flat. No one who has used a wheelchair in public needs to be convinced that transport, especially air, is often shamefully inaccessible. But Morgan knows she doesn’t have the luxury of preaching to the converted. To create change, first she has to convince non-disabled decision-makers that this matters’.
This is the focus of work for WECIL’s Disability.Inc. Through staff training, Access Audits, explorative conversations and advice, Disability.Inc. challenges its clients, organisations from all sectors, to break down the barriers they have built that prevent the full inclusion of Disabled people in their service delivery.
This has included our WAIT team working with Bristol Airport across several projects to improve access for Disabled passengers.
While significant strides have been made working with Bristol Airport, this documentary made clear that the industry still a long way to go to ensure equitable treatment for Disabled travellers – just as is true with other forms of transport.
In response to these injustices, Morgan has launched the Rights on Flights campaign, a global initiative advocating for better treatment and rights for Disabled travellers. The documentary shows the challenges Morgan faces holding non-disabled executives to account in addressing these issues and implement meaningful changes in their policies.
Fight to Fly is a compelling call to action for the public and policymakers to address and dismantle the barriers that Disabled people face daily. It is available to watch on 4od.
