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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Diane Taylor

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

Disability Sarah Richardson Emirates United Kingdom
A woman in a wheelchair dressed in black with long blond hair in front of a red background
‘I honestly think if the airlines could ban us from flying, they would’ – TV presenter, writer and disability rights campaigner Sophie Morgan. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

When Hannah Babalola boarded KLM flight 598 on 26 May, she was tired. A Paralympic athlete, she had been competing at an event in South Africa’s Cape Town, and was hoping there would be no hold ups on her journey back home to Chicago.

Babalola, 37, is well-travelled. A former wheelchair racer, she now competes in marathons and has flown to dozens of countries over the years without big problems.

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