Hints for Airline Travel in a Wheelchair

When I have assisted my parents with their airport travel, I frequently came across a few issues from ordering a wheelchair in the airport, to going through security that taught me to be as prepared as possible for the unexpected. Preparing a list of questions for the airlines and reading information on the web will be of great assistance in your quest. Reviewing the Disability booklet from the U.S. Department of Transportation [information given below] will place you in a position of preparedness and confidence.

Although there will be an enormous amount of variation as to how dependent each person is with a wheelchair, these are some tips that may be helpful for utilizing a wheelchair for airline traveling:

1. If possible, try to get a non-stop flight.
2. If you need to change planes, arrange the flight to allow at least one hour in transferring to another plane. Make a reservation on the telephone, as soon as you have your airline reservation. Contact the airlines and inform them that you will need a wheelchair, as well as a person to help in bringing you through security and possibly stay with you until your flight leaves. It is usually a courtesy to tip the person who assists you in a wheelchair.
3. Once you arrive at the airlines to check in verbally inform the person behind the desk of the airline you’re flying or the sky cap so they can put this information into their computer [I was recently informed that by doing this “in person” it assures a wheelchair will be waiting on the other end of the flight/s.
4. Sit as close to the front of the plane as possible. This will afford easy access getting on the plane, as well as when departing & you will be close to the bathroom. You may want to consider the first row since the bulkhead seats have a little more room. Also, there may be 4 or 5 other people requesting wheelchairs on your flight. By being the first one off the plane [particularly if you have to change planes], you will be the first one in a wheelchair. This is important when there are five people all waiting for assistants to arrive to wheel them to their destination.
5. If you have your own wheelchair, contact the airlines to check on their individual procedures. I have read where it is important to utilize only “gel type cell batteries”, since many airlines may refuse wet cell batteries on their plane, due to possible dangers associated with them. Always put a permanent type of identification tag or marker on your wheelchair. If you checked your wheelchair with the airlines, verify with airline attendant to make sure it was loaded on the airplane. Call the particular airlines to check on any specific requests for your “own wheelchair”.
6. Preparedness Bag: Pack the following items in your “carry on” bag.

• Cell [international cell if going out of the country] phone, paper and pen
• Phone numbers of friends, neighbors, medical contacts & emergency contact information
• Necessary prescription medication you take on a daily basis, along with multivitamins and vitamin C. Consider bringing over-the-counter medicines for problems with digestion, diarrhea, pain, allergies, motion sickness, as well as antibiotic ointment and band aids. If you have skin sensitivities to bites, you may want to bring Hydrocortisone ointment.
• Hand sanitizers or individual sanitary towelettes are very handy to not only wipe your hands, but for wiping the surfaces of areas you will be putting your hands for long period of time on the airplane.

The State Department Web site http://travel.state.gov/ has the following information available online:

• Helpful safety information about the countries you will visit
• What to do if you become sick or injured while traveling
• Travelers with weakened immune systems
• Travel health & Medical Evacuation Insurance
• Vaccination information

The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has an Office of Overseas Citizen Services that can be reached at 1-888-407-4747 from the US or Canada. If calling from overseas, the contact number is 202-501-4444

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