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Door to Door: a travel guide for disabled people

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Going by air: Boarding the aircraft

Planning ahead | Sources of information | Airline assistance | Travelling abroad with your assistance dog | Insurance | Getting to and from the airport | At the airport | Boarding the aircraft | On the aircraft | Aircraft seating | Aircraft toilets | Taking equipment with you | Help with costs

Usually disabled passengers are boarded first and disembarked last, as it easier and less stressful to manoeuvre in an empty aircraft.

If you are a wheelchair user, you cannot use your own wheelchair on board the aircraft. At some stage in the boarding process you will be transferred to a 'transfer chair' that is designed to facilitate getting them aboard. Your own wheelchair is then taken to be stored in the aircraft hold. It is a sensible precaution to attach luggage labels to any parts of you wheelchair which might become detached in transit. You can buy secure wheelchair covers to minimise the risk of any damage to the chair when in transit. The airline's ground handling agents will assist you into your seat on the plane, and out of it again at your destination.

Some airlines insist on this transfer taking place at check-in. Others allow you to travel in your own wheelchair right up to the embarkation gate. If you wish to remain in your own chair until the last possible moment, is important to request this to be arranged through your booking agent as soon as possible.

More information about boarding the aircraft is given in the DPTAC publication 'Access to air travel: Guidance for disabled and less mobile passengers'.