A basic guide on how to take your mobility device like your wheelchair or mobility scooter on your flight.

Maybe you’ve had a relative or yourself need a wheelchair or scooter to help board an airplane? This guide is intended to help you get safely into the friendly skies and back with your mobility device.

A mobility device for the purposes of this guide is a vehicle – either manually or electronically powered – that someone sits in to get around due to limited physical mobility. Things like e-bikes, hoverboards and skateboards don't count as mobility devices for the purposes of this guide.

Read more travel tips about traveling with a wheelchair

The simple answer is yes, but according to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility devices should be checked luggage. The battery must be in a secure housing securely attached to the mobility device and kept upright.

The location of the battery must be shared with the airline, and then airline staff must notify the pilot-in-command of the device location. This is just in case of a rare in-flight incident with a battery.

Good practices to prepare for your flight include going to the airline you’ve booked and searching for “wheelchair,” “mobility device,” or “mobility aid.” Airlines as diverse as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Harbour Air, LATAM, Ryanair, Southwest, and Qantas all have webpages informing of your options and minimum outreach times before your flight.

Although most airlines can accommodate you within a few days before your flight, it is recommended to make outreach at least 3-5 days before your first flight with the airline. Early contact ensures that if the airline needs to provide you with a wheelchair or space to stow a device, then there is ample time to make those arrangements.

Simple Flying also recommends checking the airline website 3-5 days or more ahead of time as sometimes airlines find they have issues accommodating mobility devices. Recently, Alaska Airlines’ regional subsidiary Horizon Air found problems with weight and balance while carrying battery-powered mobility devices on their Embraer 175 (E175) regional jets, which has led to a temporary cessation of E175s carrying such devices.

If your mobility advice comes with a battery, you want to ensure that the battery is ready for travel. This means it should be secured to your device and shows no signs of defects or damage. The battery capacity maximum is 300 watt-hours (W/h), at least in the United States.

Further good practices include doing the following:

Whether human or battery-powered, you have the right to stay in your device until you get to the gate. You should plan on arriving at the gate one hour early, according to multiple airlines' websites. You should then expect to be transferred from your device to an airport-provided wheelchair to get you to your seat. Airline and airport employees should treat you with grace and respect, and such kindness should be returned.

Most airlines allow you to board first to give extra time for transfers. But when you land, you will be asked to wait patiently and may well disembark last. You should be able to be safely reunited with your device promptly at the gate. Make sure to inspect your mobility device and note any damage so you can file a prompt claim, if need be. If there is damage, review this Simple Flying guide to know your rights if your device is damaged en route.

Longer-term, the United States Department of Transportation may allow you to bring your own wheelchair onboard aircraft. There are high standards of strong securement inside the airplane cabin as well as regulatory reform to address. But as Skift.com quoted Secretary Pete Buttigieg on August 11, 2022;

“No other form of transportation — trains, buses, boats — forces you to give up your mobility device when you board. The same ought to be true of airlines. So, in the months and years ahead, we plan to record a new rule that will allow passengers to stay in their personal wheelchairs when they fly. We know this won’t happen overnight, but it is a goal that we have to work to fulfill.”

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Simple Flying will stay tuned and report on developments.

Does this guide answer any questions you may have? If not, please share in the comments.

Sources: Skift.com, TSA What Can I Bring;

Journalist - When not reading and writing about aviation, Joe is photographing it. Joe Loves educating the public about aviation, and generating enthusiasm around flying while supporting all those who work in aviation. Based in Skagit County, United States