Traveling with Mobility Equipment
If you require assistance please make arrangements with your airline prior to arrival at the airport.
Any electric mobility aids should be prepared for carriage in accordance with the manufacturers and airline guidelines. Generally this entails switching the ignition off with the key. Some electric mobility aids have a circuit breaker which can be switched off while a few require the battery to be disconnected from the wiring harness.
There are two types of batteries:
- Wet-cell batteries: these are generally not allowed on board flights
- Dry-cell batteries (including lithium batteries)
For chairs with dry-cell or lithium batteries:
- the battery can remain attached to the wheelchair provided that it is secure;
- the terminals do not need to be disconnected if they are already inside a cell case or isolated (to avoid any short circuits);
- the motor must be disengaged.
Upon arrival at your destination, it is the responsibility of the airline to return your mobility aid to you in the same condition as you left it. Your mobility aid will be returned to you at the earliest possible point, generally as soon as you have disembarked the aircraft. Assistance for boarding and disembarking will be similar.
In the unlikely event that on arrival of your flight you find that your mobility equipment is damaged or lost, we will arrange and pay for local providers to supply temporary replacement equipment (albeit not necessarily on a like for like basis) or if possible, by temporarily lending you our equipment. However, liability for the damage (repairing and replacing the equipment) lies with the airline.