‘The captain told me to wear a nappy on board’ – why is air journey so humiliating for disabled passengers? | Disability

When Hannah Babalola boarded KLM flight 598 on 26 May, she was drained. A Paralympic athlete, she had been competing at an occasion in South Africa’s Cape Town, and hoped there can be no maintain ups on her journey again dwelling to Chicago.

Babalola, 37, is well-travelled. A former wheelchair racer, she now competes in marathons and has flown to dozens of nations over time with out large issues.

The first stretch of her journey dwelling was a flight of just about 11 hours to Amsterdam. After boarding, she was informed by the captain and crew that she wouldn’t be capable to entry an onboard wheelchair, referred to as an aisle chair. These slender wheelchairs are utilized by individuals with disabilities to allow them to entry the bathroom throughout a flight. Crew members informed her when she boarded the airplane that if she wanted to make use of the bathroom, she would have to take action and not using a wheelchair – if this wasn’t doable, she was informed she must get off the flight altogether.

Astounded by this – aisle chairs are usually out there on wide-bodied plane – Babalola stood her floor, regardless of turning into more and more distressed. The crew provided numerous justifications for his or her place, together with the captain’s fears that the chair can be unsafe to make use of if there was turbulence. She was additionally wrongly informed that she hadn’t booked the flight as a disabled individual (disabled passengers are advised to book special assistance at the very least 48 hours earlier than taking a flight – which Babalola had completed). She had purchased a return ticket​ and had​ had no hassle receiv​ing help as a disabled passenger on her outward journey​.

“It was the first time anything like this had happened to me on a plane,” says Babalola. “They made me feel as if I wasn’t a human.” The crew known as the police and safety. Both declined to take any motion in opposition to her, as there was no proof she had completed something flawed. Desperate to get dwelling, she lastly agreed to not use the bathroom throughout the flight. “The humiliation was unbearable,” she says.

What occurred to her shouldn’t be an remoted incident. When the Guardian first reported on Babalola’s case, a flurry of emails adopted from others who had had comparable experiences.

According to data printed by the World Health Organization in 2023 roughly 16% of the worldwide inhabitants experiences vital incapacity – about 1.3 billion individuals. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority outlines the rights of passengers to accessible air journey, which incorporates help transferring by means of airports, and when boarding and disembarking planes. But such help has limitations. It applies solely to individuals flying from UK airports on any airline, and for returns to the UK on both UK or EU airways.

The National Centre for Accessible Transport printed a report in July 2025, known as Invisible Barriers: How public attitudes affect inclusive travel. It discovered that folks with impairments or entry wants that fall exterior sure fashions should battle to get these wants met. Those who have been interviewed for the report stated that they had skilled damaging remedy when travelling, on account of assumptions and stereotypes round incapacity. The report checked out numerous kinds of transport, together with planes; it discovered that disabled travellers generally should endure abuse from different passengers, and that transport employees have a restricted understanding of incapacity. One wheelchair consumer quoted within the report, who was travelling by airplane, was denied help as that they had restricted mobility; they might get up and stroll in sure circumstances, however have been unable to get down the airplane steps with out help. A crew member stated: “Well you can stand, you can get off, you can go down the stairs.”

Sophie Morgan, a British TV presenter, author and incapacity rights campaigner, is co-founder of Rights on Flights and an lively campaigner for individuals with disabilities who fly. She was paralysed from the chest down after a automotive accident at 18, and commenced campaigning as a result of her wheelchair was damaged so many occasions by airport employees when she flew.

“I honestly think that if the airlines could ban us from flying, they would,” she says. “I feel sad that the same problems that were happening three years ago are still happening now. It feels like a case of one step forward, 200 steps back. When I was campaigning in the beginning I thought: ‘They just need to be told.’ In fact, they actually know full well, but they just don’t care. Where are we? We are nowhere. One plane captain told me I should wear a nappy on board.”

Sarah Richardson has a incapacity known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, which causes extreme issues along with her joints and bones. This makes journey, together with airplane journey, very difficult, and led her to conduct analysis for her MBA with 36 disabled travellers from world wide. Half the respondents encountered issues “almost always”. None reported no issues.

More than 83% of her respondents skilled stress and anxiousness when travelling, and restricted foods and drinks within the hours earlier than travelling to keep away from the wrestle of utilizing the onboard rest room. Some resorted to carrying nappies on flights in case rest room entry was unimaginable.

“I was really shocked by what I found in the interviews,” says Richardson. “Travelling systems are just not made for people with disabilities, and things have got worse with automation.” While researching her thesis, Richardson discovered that, as journey infrastructures have turn into extra automated to spice up effectivity and financial return, accessibility for disabled travellers is more and more handled as a conditional service quite than one thing baked into the design of programs. “Travel systems are designed for average bodies and toilets are not designed for people with disabilities. It is particularly terrifying on long-haul flights.”

On a current flight, she requested if she may transfer to a seat with extra leg room, which was vacant, however was informed she may solely swap if she paid an additional $300. “When you are up in the air, you are a hostage. Disability is not a niche market. We are part of the community. Being disabled is seen as not important, not sexy, not interesting,” she says.

Some disabled travellers say they’ve to arrange for the worst once they guide a airplane ticket. Hasan Adeel has muscular dystrophy and flies incessantly to go to household and to talk at conferences about his incapacity. He says he’s incessantly wrongly dealt with when being transferred between his wheelchair and his airplane seat. “I have never yet used an aeroplane bathroom, as I can’t get through the door,” he says. “I feel that for airlines, rules are ranked higher than humanity. But you can’t argue with the airlines or they won’t let you get on the plane.”

On one journey, Adeel landed in Doha in Qatar and requested employees to assist him switch from his aeroplane seat to his wheelchair. He was left for 20 minutes. “They said they had never transferred a person like me before but that they would try,” says Adeel. “First they transferred me to the narrow aisle chair and from there into my wheelchair. They did not know the correct way to transfer someone with my disability and the transfer was not done in a professional way.”

Payal Shrishrimal, an artist who lives in India, is decided to not let the numerous challenges of air journey get her down. She additionally has muscular dystrophy and, at 41, has far outlived the life expectancy of 20 that she was given as a toddler. “On one journey, when I was travelling home after recovering from surgery, the crew started whispering about me and my disability. They kept asking why I was using a wheelchair, and it made me feel very nervous and humiliated … Two or three hours before I leave home to travel to the airport I have to stop drinking water, because I know I won’t be able to use the toilet on the plane. Once, I was even asked to pay for the transport of my wheelchair, although there are [supposed to be] no charges for this.”

A recurrent grievance amongst wheelchair customers is that, when their chairs are saved within the maintain – in completely good situation – on touchdown they’re returned to them battered and damaged. One man found his electrical wheelchair had been badly broken when he arrived in London on an Emirates flight on 18 May. He is totally reliant on the chair and, because of the harm, has been confined to his dwelling. “I have effectively been trapped inside my home, and unable to attend medical appointments, shop independently, or carry out normal daily activities,” he says. “This situation has caused significant distress, loss of independence, emotional suffering and disruption to my life.” He acquired no response from the airline, and nor did others who wrote to Emirates making an attempt to advocate for him.

After the Guardian contacted Emirates, the airline agreed to take motion. A spokesperson stated: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience he experienced. We are in direct contact with him and have arranged a temporary mobility device. We are also assessing options to replace his wheelchair as a permanent solution, and will continue to support him until the issue is fully resolved.”

Even those that are highly effective and high-profile report appalling experiences once they journey by airplane. Samanta Bullock, Brazil’s former No 1 wheelchair tennis participant, now lives within the UK. She based Bullock Inclusion, which creates social initiatives in vogue and sport to advertise inclusion for all, and goals to alter attitudes to rework the lives of individuals residing with disabilities. Last month, she flew to New York to participate within the UN’s nineteenth Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which goals to additional the rights of individuals with disabilities. She and her workforce had organised a vogue present for the occasion and mentioned with officers how greatest to advance the rights of disabled individuals. But when she arrived at JFK airport for her flight again to the UK, she was informed by British Airways employees that she couldn’t board the flight and not using a carer to take her to the bathroom, because the flight crew wouldn’t be capable to help her. This would have required her to purchase an costly further ticket.

“I have travelled my whole life and never had this experience before,” she says. “Eventually, they said they could transfer me to an American Airlines flight. I thought about not accepting the transfer and fighting this. But I was so tired from my trip and I just wanted to get home, so I agreed to the change.”

A British Airways spokesperson stated: “We want to ensure a seamless flying experience for everyone and we’re sorry that our customer had a negative experience on this occasion. We are aware our customer has expressed concerns regarding her experience and we have reached out to her to discuss further.

“We serve hundreds of thousands of customers who require additional assistance every year and while we’re committed to continually improving our service, we work hard to support accessibility requirements throughout their journey.”

Morgan says that, as a result of circumstances like Bullock’s proceed to occur, she’s going to carry on combating. “I fly with my rights in my pocket, but our rights continue to be violated. We need to rebrand this as a crisis.”

As for Babalola, she continues to battle KLM. When the Guardian requested the airline to touch upon her case, KLM stated in an announcement: “We regret that an incident occurred involving one of our passengers on the flight from Cape Town to Amsterdam on 26 May. Out of respect for the privacy of both the passenger and our crew, we find it inappropriate to discuss the details of the situation.”

Babalola has now engaged a lawyer to assist her. “I need to take legal action, because otherwise this abuse of power against disabled people will continue. The experience I had on that KLM flight was distressing, degrading and humiliating. I felt intimidated by the flight crew.” On 19 June, she acquired an extra letter from KLM, saying it was vital to the corporate that every one passengers are handled with “the utmost respect and dignity”.

“We are disappointed that we fell short of that expectation,” the airline added. It went on to apologise for the actual fact she hadn’t acquired the help she requested and included “sincere apologies” for her expertise. The letter concluded: “We once again apologise for Ms Babalola’s experience on board flight KL598 and are making efforts to ensure that such a situation does not reoccur in the future.”

None of the individuals interviewed for this piece are holding their breath.