So for many years I have heard horror stories of wheelchairs being damaged in the hold of the plane.  Airlines don’t seem to appreciate or understand the importance of wheelchairs to their users so I want to share some tips from my experience of travelling to Thailand with my electric wheelchair. Hopefully helping others from experiencing that.

  1. Contact your holiday provider or airline and let them know you wish to wrap your chair in bubble wrap BEFORE boarding. They will ask you for the dimensions of your chair and confirm what type of batteries it takes. Mine has 2 lithium batteries.
  2. Before leaving, measure out how much you will need in order to wrap it vertically and horizontally for maximum protection and cut them. I had 8 very long pieces. My chair does fold up so this was quite easy, however if your chair doesn’t fold I still recommend using bubble wrap around as much as you possibly can. I know this is not guaranteed protection but it’s better than not having it.
  3. On route, I carried 2 pieces of bubble wrap on my lap (vertical and horizontal marked with black marker pen) and the rest were in a suitcase as we only need one set for the first leg of the journey.
  4. Arrive at your gate about 15 minutes earlier than you need to be there so your chair can be wrapped up, don’t forget your brown tape, at least 2 rolls. I understand this may be difficult if you are a solo traveller, I was told the staff don’t help with that. Remember to remove your batteries from the chair and put in your hand luggage. Trust me the staff will remind you.
  5. I was asked, If I wanted to wrap it at the gate or at the plane door. The gate is a better option as there are chairs and more space to wrap the chair. Just give yourself enough time.
  6. After the flight, depending on your destination airport, your chair may be brought to the airplane door or you can collect it where the oversize items are retrieved. If you’re not asked your preference, then please don’t hesitate to ask. It’s your property. I travelled with 2 different airlines so remember to adhere to tip No.1 for each flight.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any additional questions or would like to hear more about my experience travelling with a wheelchair.

Lessons learnt

I was fortunate for this experience to go smoothly and will continue to use the same process for any future travel. I hope this helps.