Airport assistance for disabled passengers

How to request the help you need

Ask for the assistance when you book. The U.S. Department of Transportation advises making the reservation as early as possible, telling the airline what type of assistance is needed, for example wheelchair assistance or guided assistance, and confirming your accessibility needs with every airline involved in the journey. At American Airlines, the request goes in the 'Add special assistance' section when you book, or under Special Services in a trip already booked.

How far ahead to ask depends on where you fly and on the airline. In the European Union, the need for assistance should be notified to the airline, its agent or the tour operator at least 48 hours before the published departure time; without that notice, the airport must still make all reasonable efforts to help. In the United States, an airline may not require advance notice that a passenger with a disability is travelling, though it may require up to 48 hours' notice for certain services that need preparation time.

Some airlines give their own times. Avianca asks for at least 24 hours before departure, and 48 hours for a group of 10 or more people with disabilities, and American Airlines needs to approve a service animal at least 48 hours before the flight.

What the airport and the airline provide

In the United States, when a passenger with a disability asks an airline for help to move through the airport, the airline is required to promptly provide it. That means help from the terminal entrance or the vehicle drop-off point to the gate, through the security checkpoint and on to the seat; help from the seat to the connecting gate and on to the next seat; and help on arrival from the seat through the airport to baggage claim, the terminal entrance or the vehicle pick-up point.

In the European Union, the airport is responsible for the help on the ground: from a meeting point to the check-in counter and through the emigration, customs and security checks to the plane and your seat, and on arrival from your seat to the baggage hall and on to a meeting point, or to your connecting flight. The airline's part includes carrying your mobility equipment and making all reasonable efforts to seat a companion who assists you next to you.

The assistance is free in both places. In the European Union the airport and the airline provide it without additional charge, and the American rules say an airline may not charge for the accommodations the rules require.

The Air Carrier Access Act, the law behind the United States rules, prohibits disability discrimination, and an airline may not refuse to transport a passenger because of a disability, although it may exclude anyone whose carriage would be harmful to the safety of the flight. In the European Union, you cannot be refused a reservation or boarding because of a disability or reduced mobility by an airline, its agent or a tour operator, unless safety requirements demand it or the aircraft or its doors are too small for it to be physically possible.

Travelling with a mobility device

If you travel with your own mobility or medical device, Avianca asks you to tell it which devices you are bringing, whatever their number, and treats mobility and assistance devices as part of your baggage at no additional cost. In the United States, airlines must accept battery-powered wheelchairs, batteries included, and wheelchairs and other assistive devices have priority over other items in the baggage compartment.

In the European Union, the airline carries up to two pieces of mobility equipment per person without additional charge, electric wheelchairs included, and the airport handles them on the ground; both need 48 hours' advance warning and depend on the space on board and on the rules for dangerous goods.

The Department of Transportation's tips add three points: if you travel with a battery-powered wheelchair, you must be at the airport 1 hour ahead of the normal check-in time; if you cannot walk long distances, request an airport wheelchair when you book; and you have the right to stay in your own wheelchair up to the gate, where staff take it and give it back to you at the gate of your destination.

What to tell the staff when you arrive

Say it as soon as you arrive. The Department of Transportation says that to receive the assistance you must self-identify to airline staff at the airport as the person with a disability who needs it: even if your reservation notes the request, the airline will not know you are that person until you say so, and its duty to help you promptly starts then, not when you reach the curb.

It also advises arriving at the airport as early as possible, to leave time to check any baggage, go through the security screening and board the plane.

In the European Union, each airport covered by the rules has meeting points inside and outside the terminal, where you can announce your arrival and ask for assistance. If no time has been set for you, the airport's duty to get you onto your flight depends on your being at a meeting point at least 2 hours before the published departure time, or at check-in at least 1 hour before it.

Then say what you need: a wheelchair to the gate, help between gates on a connection, or someone to guide you if you have trouble seeing. In the United States, if you say you need more time or help to board, the airline must let you board before other passengers.

Sources

• Wheelchair and Guided Assistance, of the U.S. Department of Transportation: when a passenger with a disability requests assistance from an airline to move through the airport, the airline is required to promptly provide it, from the terminal entrance or drop-off point to the aircraft seat, from an arriving seat to a connecting gate and seat, and from the seat to baggage claim, the entrance or the pick-up point. It may be guide assistance for a person who is blind or wheelchair assistance for a person with a mobility impairment; the passenger must self-identify to airline staff at the airport, and the prompt assistance is owed after that, not on arrival at the curbside. A passenger who self-identifies as needing more time or help to board must be allowed to board before other passengers. Its tips: make reservations as early as possible and tell the airline the type of assistance; request an airport wheelchair at booking if unable to walk long distances; with a battery-powered wheelchair, arrive 1 hour prior to the normal check-in time; confirm accessibility needs with all airlines involved; arrive as early as possible; and a passenger is entitled to stay in their own wheelchair until the gate, where it is taken and then returned at the gate at the destination. — transportation.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• About the Air Carrier Access Act, of the same department: the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel, and the department's rule under it applies to all flights of U.S. airlines and to flights to or from the United States by foreign airlines. Airlines may not refuse transportation on the basis of disability, but may exclude anyone whose carriage would be inimical to the safety of the flight; they may not require advance notice that a person with a disability is traveling, though they may require up to 48 hours' notice for certain accommodations that need preparation time. They must accept battery-powered wheelchairs, including the batteries, wheelchairs and assistive devices have priority for storage in the baggage compartment, and airlines may not charge for providing accommodations required by the rule. — transportation.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• PRMs Assistance, of the Spanish State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), on the help at Spanish airports: all of them have marked meeting points inside and outside the terminal buildings to announce one's arrival and request assistance, and when the airline or airport manager has set no time, the passenger should be there at least 2 hours before the scheduled departure. Ground handling of mobility equipment, electric wheelchairs included, needs prior notification 48 hours in advance and depends on space on board and the rules on dangerous goods. The airline should transport up to two mobility devices per passenger free of charge and make every reasonable effort to seat an accompanying person next to the passenger, and a recognised guide dog may board at no additional charge. — seguridadaerea.gob.es (checked 21 October 2026)
• Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, of the European Parliament and the Council, concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air, which applies at airports in the European Union. An air carrier, its agent or a tour operator may not refuse a reservation or embarkation on grounds of disability or reduced mobility, except to meet safety requirements or when the size of the aircraft or its doors makes it physically impossible. Each airport's managing body designates points inside and outside the terminal buildings to announce one's arrival and request assistance, and is responsible, without additional charge, for the assistance in Annex I (from a designated point through check-in, emigration, customs and security to the seat, and from the seat to the baggage hall, a designated point or a connecting flight) when the need was notified to the air carrier, its agent or the tour operator at least 48 hours before the published departure time; otherwise it must make all reasonable efforts. Where no time was stipulated, the passenger presents themselves at check-in at least one hour, or at a designated point at least two hours, before the published departure time. The air carrier provides the Annex II assistance without additional charge, including the transport of up to two pieces of mobility equipment per person, subject to 48 hours' advance warning and to space on board, and all reasonable efforts to seat an accompanying person alongside. — eur-lex.europa.eu (checked 21 October 2026)
• Special assistance, of American Airlines: assistance is requested in the 'Add special assistance' section when booking, or under Special Services in an existing trip. The services include wheelchair assistance to and from the gate, between gates for connecting flights and to baggage claim, which can also be asked of a team member at the airport on the day of travel; travelling with your own mobility or medical device; individual assistance for hearing, vision, cognitive or developmental disabilities; and travelling with a service animal, which needs approval at least 48 hours before the flight. — aa.com (checked 21 October 2026)
• What should I do if I need special assistance for my trip?, in the help centre of Avianca: the airline asks to be told at least 24 hours before the flight's departure so it can plan the service, and at least 48 hours in advance for a group of 10 or more people with disabilities. Anyone travelling with medical equipment or devices, wheelchairs among them, must say which ones regardless of their number; mobility and assistance devices count as part of the baggage at no additional cost, and a medical certificate is not needed except in some specific cases. — ayuda.avianca.com (checked 21 October 2026)