Jo Grover, Aspire's Independent Living Manager, gives her views on Sophie Morgan's Flight to Fly documentary and air travel generally.

Watching Sophie Morgan's Fight to Fly documentary, it is hard not to be angered and disappointed by the service many disabled travellers experience when flying.  Sophie sent a group of disabled travellers to different locations using three popular airlines and then reports on their experiences and the outcomes.  Unfortunately, it paints a very bleak picture: equipment gets damaged, individuals are refused travel, some must wait for long periods of time, flights are delayed, facilities are not available, and it seems to show a lack of trained airport staff.  All in all, it’s a bit of a horror show and it’s quite unbelievable that this is the familiar outcome for many disabled people traveling today.

Throughout the programme, Sophie reports figures that show the experiences of disabled passengers. Out of 500 people with reduced mobility who were asked, half reported they had experienced discrimination.  Staggeringly, 43% of wheelchair users say they don’t feel able to fly.  For those that do fly, one in four have experienced lost or damaged equipment, one in ten have been denied boarding in the last five years and two in five have experienced difficulty in accessing the toilet on board a flight.  

It is because of these startling figures and her own personal experience of poor treatment when flying, Sophie launched the Rights on Flights campaign.  The main aims of the campaign are twofold: in the long term, for the redesign of aircraft to enable passengers to stay in their wheelchairs while on the plane and in the short term better compensation for disabled passengers who experience poor treatment from an airline.  I'm sure anyone who watched the documentary would agree this campaign is both essential and encouraging, and the hope is the next generation of disabled people won’t struggle the way some travellers currently have to. 

Sophie's passion and determination is clear to see.  It is essential disabled passengers’ voices are heard and having Sophie at the forefront will hopefully lead to much needed improvements.  In the programme, Sophie had the opportunity to share her thoughts, experiences and feedback at a parliamentary event, at the US Aviation legislation meeting in Washington DC and the special assistance conference held in Paris. I particularly liked her, ‘well behaved women seldom make history’ comment; Sophie might just be the right person to lead these much-needed changes.

One area I feel could have been included within the documentary is the positive experiences disabled passengers have when travelling.  Viewers could be mistaken for believing that travelling on an airplane will most likely result in issues and problems. However, lots of disabled passengers, myself included, report positive experiences of travelling.  That is not to say improvements are not needed, more that it would have balanced the negative aspect if both sides of people’s experiences had been detailed.  Additionally, having a forum to share best practices for travelling, showing handy hints and informing disabled travellers on what is available could inspire viewers to give it a go!

I have flown several times since my spinal cord injury in 2014 and have had more positive experiences than negative, even if being the first one on a flight and the last person off can feel a bit time consuming. I use an electric wheelchair which has never been an issue, and the airport and onboard assistance has been great. Thankfully, I have not had similar experiences to other travellers, and I am aware of this fortunate position, I just feel it is important to show it won’t always be negative. 

When my children Jessica and Max were younger, they used to find traveling in the ambi-lifts (also referred to as high lifts) as an exciting part of the journey.  Now they are teenagers, they usually board on their own and we meet up again at our seats. We’ve thankfully always found staff to be really helpful.

Cerys Gemma who works as an Independent Living advisor for Aspire commented:

I have had more good experiences of travelling abroad than bad experiences.  I have had my chair broken twice while flying, once the wheel got damaged and was unusable when coming back from Spain. The airline did pay for a new wheel; however, I was left without a replacement for a few weeks (luckily, I had a spare but it wasn’t as easy or light for me to use).

I then had my chair broken on the way the Miami; the customer service there were a lot more helpful than the UK, they were geared up for it and had someone visit me to try and repair it within two days. It couldn’t be repaired but I had managed to make to work.

These experienced haven’t put me off, however they have made me a lot more aware and enabled me to set better boundaries. I have since bought a wheelchair that folds to fit in the overhead cabin, so it is safe and remains with me, thus protecting the chair from damage.  This has caused some issues with airlines, and I have had to fight to be able to do this, but it is possible.

Overall though I would say the assistance in airports is great, I have flown a lot and to less developed places such as Thailand, Philippines, Brazil and Panama, and have had excellent assistance.

I definitely recommend travelling to people with a spinal cord injury and believe the more you do it the easier it becomes.  I think the key is being vocal about what you need and giving people information. For example, I need my chair to go in the overhead hold because if it goes down with the luggage, it’s likely to get damaged.

Lindsay Liggett our ILA in Stanmore explained:

I have flown a lot since my injury and to date, apart from one mishap, I have had good experiences. The only time I didn’t was with a budget airline (that went bust); they couldn’t find my wheelchair for 2 hours. I sat on an airport wheelchair (which could have been a disaster as it had hardly any cushion padding) and fortunately I had my own cushion as I always take it on a flight with me. Two hours later, after speculation that my wheelchair had gone on another plane, it appeared.  Not great service but thankfully the issue was resolved.

I do recommend flying to patients I talk to in the spinal centre and always recommend they take their own wheelchair cushion on flights.

Sophie’s documentary is a must watch and draws our attention to a very real problem faced by many.  The campaign is so important, and I hope it successfully addresses the issues raised.  For those who wish to travel please remember there is a great deal of travel advice available to make things easier. Airlines will provide advice about the assistance they offer, the equipment you can take, how to book assistance and lots more.  There are lots of trusted travel agents who provide accessible holidays and travel.  Finally, there are websites that provide tips and information for those travelling with a wheelchair, limited mobility or a disability.  

As Matthew, BBC Journalist and former Aspire Advisor, says, “Things definitely need to change. However, I've had more good experiences than bad. But when the bad happens, it's really bad. The airline broke the back of my chair last year. So frustrating. It was still usable, and they did organise for it to be fixed. And I've had to wait for ages to get off a plane and had to stay in an airport wheelchair to fetch mine at the baggage reclaim.

Roy Hawkins, our ILA in Salisbury says: 

I’ve flown a few times from Bristol and always had a good experience. One can get man handled a bit if you cannot transfer but it’s ok.  Always take cushion on the plane and I split my medical supplies in different bags in case there are any issues with luggage, I'm not without anything important.

These experiences haven't put me off flying and I would encourage people to get onto a plane as soon as they can to carry on exploring the world because, ultimately, life doesn't stop after injury.”

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