Checklist
Wheelchair users and patients with limited mobility should confirm every accessible step of the trip before booking. Tell the airline what help you need when you book and again at check-in. Check battery rules for a powered chair. Ask the hotel and hospital specific questions about step-free access, lifts and bathrooms. Do not rely on general descriptions.
Accessibility standards vary between countries and between buildings in the same city. CDC advises travellers with disabilities to confirm that every accommodation they need is available for the whole trip and to assess each itinerary individually. This checklist breaks the journey into flights, arrival, accommodation and the hospital. Use it for a permanent wheelchair user or for a patient who will need a chair only after surgery.
What should you arrange with the airline?
- State at booking whether you need a wheelchair to the gate, an aisle chair on board or help with steps.
- Repeat the request at check-in and ask staff to confirm it on your booking record.
- Ask how much notice the airline needs for oxygen, a stretcher or a battery-powered wheelchair.
- Check the airline’s rules for wheelchair batteries and whether it supplies packaging for them.
- Ask whether a medical certificate is needed for your situation.
- Plan for a companion if you need help with eating, toilet use or medicines on board.
What should you prepare for your own wheelchair?
- Photograph the wheelchair from all sides before check-in.
- Remove cushions, bags and detachable parts and carry them in the cabin.
- Attach a tag with your name, phone number and destination address.
- Pack basic tools and any small spare parts you know you may need.
- Consider whether a manual chair suits the trip better than a powered one, given local power supply and plug types.
- Find out whether wheelchair hire is available in the treatment city as a back-up.
What should you ask the hotel or guest house?
- Is there step-free access from the street to the entrance and to the room?
- Is the lift wide enough for the wheelchair and is it working?
- How wide is the bathroom door and is there a roll-in shower or grab rails?
- Can the bed height be changed or a hospital-style bed be arranged?
- Can they send photographs of the room and bathroom before you book?
- How far is the hotel from the hospital and is the route step-free?
What should you check at the hospital?
- Ask the international patient desk to arrange a wheelchair at the entrance on arrival.
- Confirm that the outpatient areas, scanning rooms and wards you will use have lift access.
- Ask whether accessible toilets are near the ward.
- Ask whether physiotherapy and mobility aids will be provided after any procedure.
- Ask who arranges accessible transport for discharge and follow-up visits.
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How do you plan ground transport?
Ask the hospital or your case manager whether they can arrange a vehicle suitable for a wheelchair user for airport pick-up and hospital visits. Give the exact chair size and weight. Ask whether the driver can help with transfers. Allow extra time on each trip so that nobody is rushed.
If you will need a wheelchair only after surgery
Your treating specialist will tell you what mobility aids you may need. Ask the hospital before you travel whether it provides a wheelchair, walker or crutches at discharge, and whether the airline needs to be told for your return flight.
Questions people ask
Do airlines need advance notice for a wheelchair?
CDC notes that airlines may not require notice of a disability itself, but for some services, such as oxygen, a stretcher or a battery-powered chair on smaller aircraft, they may ask for advance notice and earlier check-in. Ask your airline at booking and confirm again before you fly.
Can IndiaMedica check accessibility for me?
Your case manager can ask the hospital and suggested accommodation the specific questions in this checklist and pass on their written answers. We cannot inspect every building in person, so ask for photographs and confirm anything critical yourself.
Sources
General information, not medical or legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the official source. How we write and check.