What kind of services are required for passengers traveling with electric wheelchairs?

Different airlines have different standards for carrying electric wheelchairs on airplanes, and even within the same airline, there are often no unified standards. The following is the case part:

What kind of services are required for passengers traveling with electric wheelchairs? (one)

The boarding process for passengers carrying electric wheelchairs is roughly as follows:

1. When applying for wheelchair service when booking tickets, you generally need to note the type and size of the wheelchair you use. Because the electric wheelchair will be checked as luggage, there are certain requirements for the size and weight of the checked electric wheelchair. For safety reasons, you also need to know the battery information (currently, most airlines stipulate that electric wheelchairs with a battery energy value higher than 160 are not allowed on the plane) to prevent the wheelchair from catching fire or exploding. However, not all airlines allow passengers to apply for wheelchair service during the booking process. If you cannot find the manual wheelchair service option in the booking system, you need to call to book.

2. Arrive at the airport at least two hours in advance to check in. Generally, foreign airports will have an information desk dedicated to wheelchair passengers, while domestic airports will check in at the business class information desk. At this time, the staff at the service desk will check the medical equipment carried, check in the electric wheelchair, and ask if you need an in-cabin wheelchair, and then contact the ground staff to exchange for an airport wheelchair. Check-in may be a hassle if wheelchair service is not reserved in advance.

3. Ground staff will be responsible for transporting wheelchair passengers to the boarding gate and arranging priority boarding.

4. When you arrive at the cabin door, you need to change the wheelchair in the cabin. In-cabin wheelchairs are usually placed inside the aircraft. If passengers need to use the restroom during the flight, they will also need an in-cabin wheelchair.

5. When moving a passenger from a wheelchair to a seat, two staff members are required to assist. One person holds the passenger’s calf in front, and the other person puts his hands under the passenger’s armpits from behind, and then holds the passenger’s arm. Arms and avoid touching sensitive parts of passengers, such as chests. This also makes it easier to move passengers to their seats.

6. When getting off the plane, disabled electric wheelchair passengers need to wait until the next one gets off. Staff members also need to move passengers to wheelchairs in the cabin, and then change to airport wheelchairs at the cabin door. Ground staff will then take the passenger to pick up their wheelchair.

If the aircraft stops at a location other than the departure gate and a shuttle is required to reach it, the ground staff will need to arrange a wheelchair-friendly shuttle to take the passenger to the aircraft. Transporting an electric wheelchair into the luggage compartment also requires special equipment. However, many airports in second- and third-tier cities in China, such as Nanjing Lukou Airport, do not have such equipment.

In order to prevent disabled passengers from being unable to get off the plane, the American solution is to provide very good hardware facilities as much as possible so that wheelchair passengers can use these facilities to board and get off the plane smoothly.