Travelling by air with a powered wheelchair can be a daunting experience, especially when navigating the complexities of airline procedures, wheelchair battery regulations, and assistance codes. In this guide, experienced disabled traveller and entrepreneur, Alex Papanikolaou guides you through everything you need to know—from understanding assistance codes to battery types and how to prepare your wheelchair before it goes in the hold.
This guide is divided into two parts. The first is a step-by-step guide to air travel with a powered wheelchair, and this is the second part which is a comprehensive reference guide, with detailed information on rules and procedures, battery information, preparing your powerchair for travel, and what to do if your powerchair is damaged.
Read Part One: The Ultimate Guide to Air Travel with a Powered Wheelchair: Tips & Advice
Table of Contents
Know the rules and procedures inside out
I can’t recommend this enough. You need to become an expert in all things assistance, batteries and powerchairs in relation to air travel! You would expect that airline and airport staff are experts in special assistance and wheelchairs, but unfortunately, this is often not the case. It is pretty common for staff to mix up procedures and get confused, especially over powered wheelchairs.
The airline industry has huge turnovers of staff, and staff are often untrained in powerchairs. If they are trained, they don’t deal with them very often and forget the procedures.
Knowing the procedures and the reasons behind them will let you stay one step ahead of everyone and keep them on track when you hear things that you know are incorrect!
Assistance Codes
This guide is about air travel with powered wheelchairs, but I will cover this because it goes hand in hand.
You will often be asked if you can do stairs, or if you can walk to your seat. They ask these questions because they are trying to determine what assistance code they should assign to you. The codes are:
WCHR – referred to as ‘Romeo’ is the most basic type of assistance and means you need a wheelchair to the aircraft, but from there you can get yourself onboard including any steps or stairs.
WCHS – referred to as ‘Sierra’ means you need a wheelchair to the aircraft door and cannot do stairs or steps. This level of assistance triggers the use of an ambulift (side loading lift that lifts up to the aircraft door) if the aircraft is not on an air bridge.
WCHC – referred to as ‘Charlie’ means you need a wheelchair all the way to your seat, including the aisle chair and a lift on/off to your seat if you can’t self-transfer.
If you need WCHC, you should probably request WCOB as well, which is the onboard wheelchair for going to the toilet, you need to be able to self-transfer or transfer with the help of someone travelling with you to use this, and short haul budget airlines tend not to have one.
It’s important to know your code and what it means because staff often confuse them.
Powered Wheelchair Air Travel Essentials
The below is a combination of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Battery-Powered Wheelchair and Mobility Aid Guidance and my own experience. In my experience, there are four key things to know to travel with a powerchair.
- Battery types
- Size and weight
- Disconnection/immobilisation
- Freewheel mode
1. Batteries and Battery Codes
All major airlines accept powered wheelchairs, but not all airlines accept all types of powered wheelchairs.
There are four main types of powered wheelchairs according to IATA guidelines, but only three of them are relevant these days.
WCWD – A powered wheelchair with a wet cell battery (also called spillable), these types of chairs don’t really exist anymore and most airlines don’t accept them either.
WCBD – A powered wheelchair with a dry cell or gel battery (also called non-spillable) is the classic powerchair battery and is pretty much universally accepted. They are almost always not designed to be removable and you just need to disconnect/immobilise the chair.
WCLB (removable) – A powered wheelchair with a removable lithium battery tends to be a small, portable powerchair with a battery that comes out easily. If you have this type of chair you must remove the battery and take it with you in the cabin, and the battery cannot exceed 300 watt hours.
WCLB (non-removable) – A powered wheelchair with a non-removable lithium battery, these tend to be similar to dry cell battery powered wheelchairs and have a battery that is not designed to be removed. These types of chairs tend to have no watt hour limit but this is airline dependent.
Removable or Non-removable Lithium Battery – The Difference
If you have a lithium powered chair, this bit is absolutely key to understand and remember.
The biggest danger to a lithium battery is an external event that upsets the internal balance of the battery and causes it to overheat. The most common cause of lithium battery fires is being dropped or crushed. This is why they tell you to ask for help if you drop your phone in your seat.
Removable lithium batteries are considered more dangerous because they can be dropped, crushed, or damaged. This is why you must remove them and take them with you in the cabin to keep an eye on them. They also have a strict 300-watt hour limit to reduce the risk of a severe fire.
Non-removable lithium batteries in powerchairs are considered much safer because they are protected by the chairs chassis and structure from being damaged, this is why the IATA guidance says there is no watt hour limit for these chairs.
But, unfortunately, it’s not that simple!
Dangerous Goods Licence
As I said before, not all airlines accept all types of powered wheelchairs.
For an airline to accept a lithium battery powered wheelchair with a battery capacity over 300Wh, they must have a Dangerous Goods licence.
Most major airlines have this and you can usually find out by looking at their website, if they talk about removable batteries vs non-removable then they are probably ok, but if they talk about a strict 300Wh limit for all lithium powered chairs, then they probably don’t have a licence.
For example, British Airways and easyJet have one, but Ryanair do not. This means that you cannot take a lithium powered chair with a battery over 300Wh on a Ryanair flight, even if it’s non-removable.
And just to add another layer of complexity, even if an airline accepts non-removable lithium batteries without a watt hour limit, they sometimes don’t explicitly say this on the website. They only tell you about the 300wh limit if it’s removable, but not what happens if it’s not removable!
It’s also very common for airport and airline staff not to know about this crucial difference, and you may need to go through this with them several times.
UN38.3 Test Report and MSDS
If you are travelling with a lithium powered wheelchair, you may also be asked for a copy of the UN38.3 test report for the battery, also referred to as the UN report. This is a test report that shows your battery has passed several tests required for transportation. You may be asked to email this in advance or show it at the airport.
You may also be asked for a Material Safety Data Sheet even if you have a dry cell battery.
These documents can usually be obtained from your powerchair manufacturer, or the battery manufacturer’s website if you know it.
Battery Specifications
Without going into too much detail, I’ll cover these terms as you will get asked for these sometimes. These numbers only really matter if it’s a lithium battery, but staff tend to ask regardless, and often they don’t really know what they are asking or why they are asking.
Amp hours (Ah) – this is a measurement of battery capacity, it is usually something like 40Ah or 60Ah.
Voltage (V) – most dry cell chairs are 24V, lithium can be 24V, 36V or 48V.
Watt hours (Wh) – this is a measurement of battery energy and can be worked out by multiplying amp hours and voltage. So a 60AH 24V battery is 1440 watt hours.
They may also ask you how many batteries are in your chair. Most dry cell chairs have two 12V batteries that make up 24V. Again, I think sometimes they just ask this for the sake of it without knowing why they are asking.
2. Size and Weight
You will always be asked for the weight of your chair, so make sure you know this.
You may also be asked for the length, width and height.
The height is the most important measurement with most flights.
If your chair is under 110cm high, you can generally get it in an Airbus A320 and larger without having to fold the backrest down as well as in widely used Boeing planes (except a 737).
If you are flying in a Boeing 737 which is a very common short haul plane, you will almost always have to fold or remove your backrest unless you have a very short backrest, as 737s have a short door for the hold at only 84cm high.
With small regional planes, the width can be important too, see Aircraft hold dimensions for a full list.
Some airlines publish maximum sizes and weights on their websites that may make little sense, such as a 32kg weight limit, in reality, I’ve found that these are for other devices and not powerchairs, but again, staff might get confused about these.
So just make sure you check in advance that they will accept your chair and that they are not misreading the wrong rules.
Folding Your Backrest
If you know you need to fold your backrest, I suggest you come prepared and know what you need to do before they take your chair to the hold.
Research the aircraft type you are flying with in advance by looking at booking websites such as Google Flights or using flight tracker tools. Don’t rely on staff to know this for you.
If you have a powered or manual recline, use this to put the seat back to the required height.
If you need to unscrew something, make sure it can be done. If you need a tool like an Allen key, bring it with you. Some airlines say on the website you cannot use tools to fold your backrest, but in reality, staff are very grateful if you come prepared.
3. Disconnection/immobilisation
Powered wheelchairs must always be disconnected or immobilised when put in the hold.
The main risk with powerchairs in the hold is that they turn themselves on or get turned on, start driving against something in the hold, overheat and start a fire.
This actually happened, a bag fell on the joystick and turned it on, the joystick got jammed forward and the motors overheated.
There are five main ways to make sure your chair is safe in the hold, the first is the easiest and simplest, followed by the next best option:
- Key – if there is a key or a switch, use that to turn the chair off, if the key is removable, take it with you.
- Unplug your joystick with the cable on the armrest.
- Use an Airsafe plug or lock the joystick with the combination that locks it (found in your user manual. These options are usually accepted but your joystick will still light up if turned on, and some staff don’t like that because the chair is still powered (again, because they often don’t really understand the guidance of immobilisation).
- Unplug the battery cables, there’s usually a plug under a cover that’s easy to unplug, but this involves taking parts of the chair off which I never like doing.
- Physically disconnect the battery terminals. This is the least recommended option because it involves opening your chair even further, and even IATA don’t recommend it because it can be dangerous if not done properly.
4. Freewheel Mode
This is a simple one. Know how to disengage your powerchair brakes so it can be pushed, and take some photos or videos on your phone to show staff at your destination if they are struggling to find it.
Some call it freewheel mode, some ask where the brakes are, some ask how they unlock it or push it, it’s all the same thing.
Damaged Powerchairs
As we all know, powerchairs unfortunately do get damaged during air travel. In my experience, it’s mostly cosmetic damage to my Series 5, but I have had other chairs be so badly damaged I couldn’t use them in the past.
I like to think that severe damage is getting less frequent, but that’s my experience. Nevertheless, it’s important to know what to do if the worst happens.
If you notice any damage to your chair, it’s always the airline’s responsibility, even though it’s the airport staff that usually damages it.
You either need to report it to the airport on arrival to get a damage report to send to your airline, or report it to your airline online. Do this as quickly as possible, as most airlines have a 7-day limit for reporting damage or they won’t cover the costs of repair.
After you make a claim, what will usually follow is filling out some forms and submitting a damage report and quote for repair. The airline will then respond with a settlement offer. I suggest you seek a repair provider and get a report and quote yourself rather than relying on them to do it.
The Montreal Convention specifies a maximum liability on baggage of 1,288 SDRs (approximately £1,365 or EUR1,600). However, most major airlines don’t apply this limit to powerchairs. If they do, there have been cases where some social media and press attention get the airline to cover the full cost.
Some places like the US will also arrange a rental chair for you if yours is unusable.
I strongly recommend having insurance for your powerchair and travel, in case the absolute worst happens and you need to come home immediately with a broken chair and the airline won’t cover it. Find an insurer that covers repairs to mobility aids and cancellation/curtailment (the cost of getting you home).
Aircraft Hold Dimensions
This list was very helpfully compiled by John Morris at WheelchairTravel – all I have done is convert the numbers to metric.
| Aircraft Type | Hold Door Height (cm) | Hold Door Width (cm) |
| Airbus A220 | 81 | 112 |
| Airbus A310 | 168 | 264 |
| Airbus A319 | 122 | 180 |
| Airbus A320 | 122 | 180 |
| Airbus A321 | 122 | 180 |
| Airbus A330 | 168 | 269 |
| Airbus A340 | 168 | 272 |
| Airbus A350 | 168 | 244 |
| Airbus A380 | 163 | 170 |
| ATR 42 | 122 | 65 |
| ATR 72 | 122 | 65 |
| Boeing 717 | 76 | 89 |
| Boeing 727 | 112 | 137 |
| Boeing 737 | 84 | 122 |
| Boeing 747 | 168 | 264 |
| Boeing 757 | 112 | 140 |
| Boeing 767 | 175 | 178 |
| Boeing 777 | 163 | 259 |
| Boeing 787 | 170 | 269 |
| Bombardier CS100 | 81 | 112 |
| Bombardier CS300 | 81 | 112 |
| Canadair Regional Jet CRJ/CRJ 200 | 109 | 84 |
| Canadair Regional Jet CRJ 700 | 84 | 109 |
| Canadair Regional Jet CRJ 900 | 84 | 109 |
| deHavilland Dash 8-100 | 152 | 127 |
| deHavilland Dash 8-300 | 152 | 127 |
| deHavilland Dash 8-400 | 152 | 140 |
| Embraer EMB 120 | 130 | 137 |
| Embraer ERJ 135/145 | 99 | 99 |
| Embraer E170 & E175 | 89 | 109 |
| Embraer E190 & E195 | 89 | 109 |
| Fokker 100 | 89 | 112 |
| McDonnell Douglas DC9-50 | 79 | 130 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD80 | 71 | 135 |
| McDonnell Douglas MD90 | 71 | 135 |
| Saab 2000 | 130 | 135 |
| Saab 340b | 130 | 135 |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100/95 | 89 | 122 |
Check out part one of the ultimate guide to flying with a powered wheelchair, which is a step-by-step guide to air travel with a powered wheelchair.
Thank you to Alex Papanikolaou for sharing his expert tips and advice for air travel with a powered wheelchair. You can follow Alex and his travels @alexwheeltravel on Instagram.
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