How do I book assistance when travelling with a disability?

Assistance at UK airports and stations is free, legally required and generally good when it has been booked. It is much less reliable when it has not, because the staffing is planned around bookings. The other half is equipment: wheelchairs and mobility aids travel free but the hold is hard on them, and the protection is documentation and clear labelling rather than hope.

Safety

What you'll need

• Booking references for every leg
• A written description of the assistance needed
• Photographs and specifications of any mobility equipment (optional)
• Medication in original labelled packaging with a prescription copy (optional)

Step by step

1. Request assistance when you book, and confirm the notice period.Airlines, airports and rail operators each set how much notice they need — often at least a day and sometimes more for equipment or for through-journeys. Book it for every leg, including connections and the return.
2. Describe the need, not the label.'Cannot manage stairs or long distances, can walk a short distance with a stick' produces better help than ticking a box. Say whether you need help to the gate, onto the aircraft, or in the seat, and whether a companion is travelling.
3. Say what the assistance must cover on the day.Getting from the car park or drop-off, through check-in and security, to the gate, boarding, and the same in reverse at the other end including baggage reclaim. Assistance that starts at check-in is no use if you cannot get to check-in.
4. Book rail assistance through the national booking service or the operator.Passenger Assist covers UK rail and can be booked for a whole journey including changes. Staff meet you at the platform, arrange ramps and see you onto and off the train. Book it for each leg.
5. Handle mobility equipment carefully with the airline.Give the make, model, dimensions, weight and battery type well in advance — battery type in particular determines whether and how a powered chair can be carried. Airlines carry mobility equipment free and it does not count against baggage allowance.
6. Photograph and label the equipment before handover.All sides, close-ups of anything already damaged, and a clear label with your name and contact details. Remove or secure loose parts — cushions, footplates, joysticks — and take fragile controls into the cabin if permitted.
7. Ask to be taken to the aircraft door rather than the gate.Many airports will take a personal wheelchair to the aircraft door and return it there on arrival rather than sending it to reclaim. Ask for this specifically — it is a large difference and it is not automatic.
8. Keep medication and essential equipment in the cabin.In original labelled packaging with a copy of the prescription, and a doctor's letter for anything unusual, injectable or requiring refrigeration. Never in the hold.
9. Check accessibility at the destination, in detail.Step-free access at the arrival station or airport, the accommodation's actual bathroom and entrance rather than an 'accessible' tick box, whether the hire car or transfer takes a wheelchair, and local equipment hire. Ask for photographs and measurements.
10. Declare conditions on the insurance.Every condition and medication for every traveller. Also check the policy covers mobility equipment adequately, and whether a separate specified-item policy is needed for something expensive.
11. Report a failure or damage before leaving.If assistance does not turn up or equipment is damaged, report it at the airport or station before you leave and get a reference. Escalate to the operator, then to the aviation or rail regulator's complaints route.

Tips

• Ring a couple of days before travelling to confirm the assistance booking exists for every leg. Bookings do get lost between systems, particularly on connections and codeshares.
• A short written summary of your needs, printed and carried, saves explaining the same thing to five different people on a bad day.
• Where a journey is complex, a travel agent experienced in accessible travel is genuinely worth the fee — the questions they know to ask are the ones that catch people out.

Questions people ask