Air Carrier Access Act Technical Assistance Manual (2005)

Ask Questions and Provide Instructions

Know what to ask carrier personnel. You can ask for and carrier personnel must be able to provide information about aircraft accessibility, seating and movable armrests, lavatory accessibility, boarding options, and storage facilities on board, among other things.

Although advance notice is not generally required, understand that providing detailed information about the accommodations you need in advance of travel will assist carrier personnel in providing those accommodations in a correct and timely manner.

If you are transferring planes, you may want to investigate whether your trip involves more than one carrier. If so, contact each carrier to determine whether it is able to fully accommodate you. Keep in mind that carriers might provide such optional accommodations on their “mainline” flights only, not on the flights operated by their smaller code-share affiliates. For example, some carriers do not provide medical oxygen on board. Don’t assume that by communicating with the carrier for the first leg of your trip, other carriers handling the rest of the journey are fully briefed and able to accommodate you. Similarly, when booking reservations online, you may want to consider contacting each carrier by telephone to determine the carrier’s individual policies and to provide and receive specific information to ensure your needs are met for each leg of your journey.

If you are receiving assistance with transportation between gates by ground wheelchair, remember to instruct the personnel assisting you on your specific needs, e.g., whether or not you would like the airline employee or contractor to push you and the ground wheelchair through the terminal. Although in most instances you are not obligated to self identify as a passenger with a disability, keep in mind that conveying certain information or providing some guidance will permit carrier personnel to assist you better.

Directing carrier personnel to remove footrests (if possible) and other removable parts of personal wheelchairs and stow them in the cabin may help to reduce the potential for damage to the wheelchair while it is stowed in the cabin or in the cargo hold.