Rights of air passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility

At the airport, assistance is provided by the managing body of the airport.

Notify the airline, ticket vendor or tour operator of your need for assistance when you book your journey or at the latest 48 hours before the journey. This way, the information will be automatically passed on to the managing body of the airport.  

Contact an assistant at the airport

Please arrive at the airport well before your flight and contact an assistant. You can contact an assistant at the check-in or at a designated assistance call point.

You must contact an assistant by the time indicated by the airline. If no time has been specified in advance, you must report to the assistance call point no later than two hours before your flight departure time. At the check-in, you should contact an assistant no later than one hour before the departure time. 

Assistance call point

Assistance call points are usually marked with an easily identifiable sign, such as a wheelchair symbol. The point has a telephone or some other device to contact an assistant and let them know you have arrived.

There can be several call points both inside and outside the airport building. At large airports, these points can also be found at car parks.

You can check the location of call points on the airport website.

Assistance during different parts of your journey

At the airport, you will be assisted by a trained assistant. If you are travelling with your own assistant, you can rely on them for all the help you need at the airport, if you so wish.

An assistant will meet you at the check-in counter or the call point. The assistant will help you to move around and operate at the airport. You will receive help with, for example, the check-in, security control, border formalities and boarding the aircraft. The assistant will also help you with your luggage. 

Usually, the assistant will accompany you to the departure gate to wait for boarding. If you have plenty of time before departure, the assistant can also come and get you from a place you have agreed when it is time to board the aircraft.

You will usually get to board the aircraft among the first passengers. The assistant will help you proceed all the way to your seat. 

If you have a connecting flight, an assistant will be waiting for you to help you proceed to your next flight.

You will also be assisted at your final destination. An assistant will meet you at the airport to help you proceed from the aircraft to the terminal. The assistant will also retrieve your luggage. After this, the assistant will take you to the call point or some other point of departure you have agreed.

The free-of-charge special assistance is based on EU legislation. It entitles you to assistance at all airports in the EU and in Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Please note that at airports in other countries assistance may be subject to a charge or not available at all. For information on availability of assistance, please contact the authorities of the relevant country.

You are also entitled to assistance during flights, free of charge. The airline is responsible for providing assistance on board. The aircraft crew has received training to assist persons with disabilities or reduced mobility.  

Please take into account the duration of your flight and inform the relevant parties in advance of your needs during the flight. Notify the airline, ticket vendor or tour operator of your need for assistance when you book your journey or at the latest 48 hours before the journey.

Visit the airline’s website to read more about safety and security rules and possible restrictions regarding the transport of assistive devices.

Essential information concerning a flight

All essential information concerning a flight are available in accessible formats.

This includes the safety instructions given on board. Availability in accessible formats may require the airline to take pre-arrangements, so please inform them or your needs in advance to make sure they can be met.

Seating on board

Upon request, the airline must make efforts to arrange you a seat that best meets your needs. Please note that seating is subject to safety requirements and availability. 

If you are travelling with your own assistant, the accompanying person will be given a seat next to you.

Please note that because of safety reasons persons with disabilities or reduced mobility are not allowed to sit next to emergency exits.

Assistance in moving to toilet facilities

During the flight, you are entitled to assistance with moving to toilet facilities. Please make sure in advance that the aircraft has a transit wheelchair because cabin crew members are not required to lift you. You must be able to use the toilet facilities unaided.

You can also request a seat close to toilet facilities.

Personal assistant on board

Please note that during the flight the airline personnel will not assist you, for example, with meals or taking your medication. If you need this kind of assistance, the airline may require you to be accompanied by your own assistant.

If you are travelling with your own assistant, the accompanying person will be arranged a seat next to you.  

Please contact the airline to check how much the assistant’s ticket costs. 

Airlines, ticket vendors and tour operators are not allowed to refuse to accept your reservation or to take you on board on the grounds of disability or reduced mobility. However, there are two exceptions to this main rule. Reservation or carriage may only be refused because of safety reasons or if the size of the aircraft or its doors makes the embarkation or carriage of a disabled person or person with reduced mobility impossible. Your safety must always be ensured during a journey. 

Because of safety reasons, the airline, ticket vendor or tour operator may also require you to travel with an accompanying person who can assist you during the journey.  

Your reservation is refused

If your reservation is refused because of safety reasons or the size of the aircraft, the airline, ticket vendor or tour operator must make reasonable efforts to propose an acceptable alternative.

You have been denied access on board

If the airline refuses to take you on a flight because of your disability or reduced mobility, you have the right to reimbursement or re-routing. 

If you choose reimbursement, the airline must refund the ticket purchase price within 7 days. You are entitled to reimbursement for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plan.

If you choose re-routing, the airline must offer you a new flight to your final destination at the earliest opportunity. You can also opt for re-routing at a later date at your convenience, if there are tickets available.

If you are denied access on board a connecting flight, you have the right to a free return flight to the point of departure indicated on your ticket. 

The return flight and re-routing can only be provided if it is safe. 

Reasons for refusal must be given without delay

The airline, ticket vendor or tour operator must immediately give you a reason why your reservation or carriage has been refused.

If you so request, the grounds for refusal must be given in writing within five working days. 

Safety rules

Airlines and ticket vendors must publish in accessible formats the safety rules they apply to the carriage of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility. They must also publish any restriction to the carriage of mobility devices, such as wheelchairs, or of persons with reduced mobility due to the size of the aircraft. 

You are entitled to have two mobility devices, such as a wheelchair or rollator, carried free of charge. You can also take with you all the medication and other medical equipment you need during the journey. 

The airline will ask you details about the weight and dimensions of the wheelchair. The airline will also need to know details about the battery of an electric wheelchair.  

The carriage of wheelchairs is usually no problem. However, the size of some aircraft types may pose restrictions on the carriage of assistive devices. Airlines must publish any such restrictions on their websites. Check the details from your airline. 

You must inform the airline in advance of any respiratory or oxygen equipment you may need because you will need the airline’s permission to carry this equipment. If you need extra oxygen during the flight, please make the relevant arrangements with the airline before your flight. The airline may charge an additional fee for extra oxygen. 

You can take an assistance dog with you free of charge. 

Mention that you will be travelling with an assistance dog already when you book your journey. Please note that airlines have different practices when it comes to assistance dogs.

When travelling abroad with an assistance dog, make sure you have all the documents required in your country of destination, such as vaccination certificates and import licences.

If wheelchairs or other mobility equipment or assistive devices are lost or damaged while being handled at the airport or transported on board aircraft, the passenger to whom the equipment belongs shall be compensated, in accordance with rules of international, Community or national law.