Accessibility

Flying with a disability or mobility aid

Assistance is not an optional extra you tick at checkout. It is a coded service request attached to your reservation, and the difference between one that was properly filed and one that was merely mentioned is the difference between a wheelchair waiting at the gate and nobody knowing you were coming.

Last verified 2 November 2026Source: 14 CFR Part 382 (eCFR)

What US law entitles you to

The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and the rules made under it at 14 CFR Part 382 prohibit airlines from discriminating on the basis of disability. In practical terms, on flights to, from and within the United States:

• Assistance is free. Under 14 CFR 382.31, airlines may not charge for the facilities, equipment or services the rule requires, such as wheelchair assistance through the airport, help boarding and deplaning, and carrying your mobility device.
• You do not have to say in advance that you are travelling. Under 382.25 a carrier must not require advance notice that a passenger with a disability is on a flight, and for most services it cannot require advance notice either (382.27).
• Assistive devices do not count as carry-on bags. Under 382.121, manual wheelchairs, canes, crutches, walkers, prescription medication and the devices needed to give it, and devices such as a CPAP or portable oxygen concentrator can come into the cabin, where stowage allows, and must not be counted towards a carry-on limit.
• You may pre-board. Under 382.93, airlines must offer preboarding to passengers who self-identify at the gate as needing extra time or help to board, stow equipment or be seated.

What to request, and when

Wheelchair assistance through the airport

Requests are coded by how far you can walk: assistance to the aircraft door, assistance to the seat, or assistance for a passenger who cannot manage stairs. Being specific matters, because the code determines what equipment and staffing is arranged. Tell us honestly what you can and cannot do, including whether you can walk up the aerobridge and whether you can transfer to an aisle chair.

Travelling with your own wheelchair or mobility scooter

Give us the make, model, dimensions, weight, and above all the battery type — dry cell, gel, or lithium-ion. Battery chemistry determines how the device must be handled and packaged, and it is the single most common cause of a device being refused at the gate. A device travelling in the hold should be labelled with handling instructions.

A DOT rule published on 17 December 2024 added 14 CFR 382.130 on wheelchair handling. As the regulation reads today:

• If a checked wheelchair or scooter is not returned in the condition it was received, the airline is presumed to have mishandled it.
• A delayed wheelchair or scooter must reach your final destination within 24 hours of your arrival on domestic and shorter international flights, or within 30 hours after an international flight of more than 12 hours, and you can choose to collect it or have it delivered to a reasonable location such as your home or hotel.
• If it is lost or damaged, you can choose between the airline arranging the repair or replacement and using your own preferred vendor at the airline's cost, and the airline must make best efforts to provide a suitable loaner in the meantime.
• The airline must reimburse transport costs to or from the airport that you incur because it delayed your wheelchair or scooter.
• Staff who physically assist passengers, and staff who handle wheelchairs and scooters, had to complete new initial training by 17 June 2026, with refresher training every 12 months.

On domestic flights the normal baggage liability limit does not apply to a wheelchair or other assistive device; compensation is based on its original purchase price (382.131). On international flights the Montreal Convention limits apply.

Service animals

US rules recognise trained service dogs. An airline may require the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form and, for a flight segment of 8 hours or more, the DOT Service Animal Relief Attestation Form, completed on or after the date you bought the ticket. If you booked more than 48 hours before departure it may ask for the form up to 48 hours in advance; if you booked later, it can only ask for it at the gate. Staff may ask two questions: whether the dog is needed because of a disability, and what task it is trained to perform. Emotional support animals are not service animals under 14 CFR 382.3 and travel as pets under the airline's policy. Our guide to flying with a pet in cabin sets out both sets of rules.

Medical oxygen and medical devices

Airlines are not required to supply in-flight medical oxygen. Under 14 CFR 382.133, airlines must accommodate approved portable oxygen concentrators and similar devices, but may ask you to present a physician's statement at the airport and to bring enough fully charged batteries for at least 150% of the expected maximum flight duration, which the airline should tell you once you say you will use the device. This genuinely needs arranging in advance, and it is the clearest example of a booking that cannot be self-served. For spare batteries, our power bank and battery rules guide explains the carry-on limits.

Seating and escorts

If you need a bulkhead seat, a movable aisle armrest, or to be seated next to a travelling companion who is assisting you, that is an accommodation request rather than a paid seat selection, and it should be recorded as one.

Why book this through an agent

Comparison sites cannot file a service request. At best they collect a note that may or may not reach the airline's reservation record. When we book, the request goes onto the reservation, we get it confirmed back, and you have a reference showing it was made. If it then goes wrong at the airport, you have evidence rather than a recollection.

We also reconfirm assistance requests before travel, because they are lost more often than anyone would like — particularly after a schedule change or a rebooking, which can drop them entirely.

Practical advice

• Allow more connection time than the minimum. Assistance depends on staff availability at both ends, so a connection at the minimum leaves little room.
• Get everything in writing before you fly. Take the confirmation showing the request with you.
• Reconfirm after any change. A schedule change often generates a new reservation, and requests do not always follow.
• Photograph your wheelchair before check-in. If it is damaged in transit, dated photographs support the claim.
• Report a problem before you leave the airport where you can. Under 14 CFR 382.151, a US airline must make a Complaints Resolution Official available, in person or by phone, at each airport it serves while it is operating there.

Common questions

This page is general information about US rules and is not medical or legal advice. For your own circumstances, check the current position with your airline and with the US Department of Transportation.

Sources

• 14 CFR Part 382, Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in air travel (eCFR): sections 382.3, 382.25, 382.27, 382.31, 382.72 to 382.80, 382.93, 382.121, 382.130, 382.131, 382.133 and 382.151
• US Department of Transportation: Passengers with disabilities