Disabled and flying? How your airline can help

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Self-transfer and full assisted transfer are categories airlines use to determine what equipment you will need and how much help to offer when you are boarding your flight. Specifically, these options relate to the transfer from your chair to the aisle chair and the aisle chair to your seat on board the aircraft.

Self-transfer

If you can move your body weight on your own, with a sliding board or help from a companion, this is classed as self-transfer. In which case, you will be met just outside the aircraft on the ramp with airport staff and aisle chair.

Airline staff should help you make the transfer to and from the aisle chair and into the aircraft seat, as easy as possible but will expect you to shift your body weight from one seat to the other. Staff will help secure your legs and arms and fasten safety belts across you to keep you stable.

Assistance to transfer

If you need assistance to transfer from one seat to another, many airlines now use a patient hoist modified for the narrow aircraft aisle. A specially-trained team should meet you at the gate and use a powered portable patient lift designed for the narrow aircraft aisle to get you from your wheelchair to your seat on board.

Airline staff will assist you to don the sling under your body, and then carefully lift you out of your chair, steer the lift down the aircraft aisle, to your seat. Know your sling size and make sure airport staff use the right one for you.

In-flight

An in-flight aisle wheelchair is available to assist you to use the onboard bathroom. These aisle chairs are smaller, foldable and less stable than the ones used to get you onboard. This chair is operated by flight attendants, and many have no experience with operating it with an actual passenger.

Keep calm, let them know what help you need. It’s useful to know that there is a fold-down footplate on all of these chairs that are often forgotten when they are deployed – don’t be afraid to mention it before you transfer to protect your feet while in use.

Thanks to Spinal Cord Injury BC for this information.