27 June 2022
Using a power chair doesn’t have to mean that your days of holidaying abroad are behind you. In this two part series, we speak to Phil Friend OBE Hon D.Sc, a power chair user himself and one of the UK’s foremost consultants on disability matters, to get his advice on going abroad when you’re a power wheelchair user.
Previously we touched on planning the trip, this time we’re looking at getting to the airport and what happens next.
This may sound a little obvious, but in the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go away it can be easy for it to slip your mind. Make sure your chair is plugged in to charge and don’t unplug it until the day you’re going to leave, that way you know you’ll have enough power in it to get where you need to go. It may be a good idea to add it to your checklist, so you don’t inadvertently forget.
“Get to the wheelchair assistance point as quickly as you can,” says Phil, “as they will then start dealing with the processes.” This includes helping you at every stage, from check-in through to the moment you board the plane.
As mentioned last time, passenger assistance will need to have been booked prior to your trip so that they know to expect you.
One of the concerns people have around travelling through airports is that you will, at some point, be separated from your power chair and transferred into an airport wheelchair that is very likely not to be suitable. You can challenge this if you need to stay in your own chair for longer.
“They will always want to take it off you at the check in point,” says Phil, “so they’ve got time to put it on a lorry or something. They’ve got better at allowing you to go to the door of the plane and then taking them away, but they don’t like doing it. So be prepared for a fuss.”
“They don’t want to do it there because it’s hard work,” Phil acknowledges, “but I do not want to be parted from my chair. [By swapping chairs at the door to the plane] it allows me to see them taking it and putting it in the hold, because I’m on the aircraft watching them doing it.”
What is important is that your power chair is tagged appropriately, so that it reaches the right destination once you are separated from it. “You need to be absolutely certain that there’s tags all over it,” agrees Phil.
This applies whether you have to hand your wheelchair over at check in or just before you board your flight.
“Your power chair has to be disabled, it has to be signed off as safe to fly with,” says Phil. “They’ll always ask what sort of batteries it has, and they’ll want it disarmed. If you don’t do it, they’ll do it, so you get your chair back and suddenly think “what have they done it won’t work” because they’ve done all sorts of crazy stuff. They’ll pull whatever they can off to make it safe. So, take the armrest, take the controller arm off if you can – put that in your hand luggage – now your seat cushion… If they’re taking your chair away then you put your seat cushion in the chair they put you in or your support worker carries it, but you want that on the plane as part of your hand luggage.”
“Wheelchair assistance are usually with you when you go through security and customs checks and all that stuff,” says Phil. “Very often they’ll fast track, so you’ll go ahead of all the other passengers.”
It’s worth remembering that this is the point where you’ll need to have any medical certification for medications and the like as they’ll need to see it.
You may also be physically searched. “They will always ask you if you’ve got any painful areas,” says Phil. “But you will be searched and if you’re still in your power chair, so will it be. There is a process that everybody goes through and that you’re a severely disabled passenger makes no difference; they will search you just the same as everybody else.”
The airport’s passenger assistance team should be the ones to get you situated in your seat on the plane, but once that transfer is complete, their role ends.
“Once you’re on the aircraft you’re now the cabin crew’s problem,” says Phil. “Anything that happens from now on is their responsibility, so if you get poorly or you want extra drink or whatever it is, they will look after you.”
What should happen is that the passenger assistance team at your destination airport should have been notified that you will need help disembarking the flight and that your chair will need to be brought to you.
“What normally happens,” says Phil, “is other passengers disembark and then you stay where you are and the wheelchair assistance people come with either their chair or your chair which they got out the hold (which can take some time) and then they help you.”
If you’ve landed in an airport that doesn’t have a gate, there should be an ambulift booked – this is a specialised vehicle that essentially has a big lift attached to the back of it to help safely lower you down to ground level. You may have to wait a little while for the ambulift to arrive – don’t worry, the cabin crew won’t leave you and the plane won’t try and take off again while you’re still on it.
“If it goes well, you’re met, you’re helped off the aircraft, you go then to luggage/baggage reclaim,” says Phil, “you go through that, then you go through anything to declare and all that stuff, and then – hopefully – there’s a van or a bus or a something outside that you’ve booked to take you on to your hotel. Passenger assistance will very often take you outside to the taxi or the bus or whatever. They’ll help you right to the point you depart the airport.”
Flying abroad may feel a little daunting, especially if it’s been a while or if you’ve never flown with a powered wheelchair before, but it doesn’t mean that you have to avoid flying forever. Being prepared and getting to know the process can help to mitigate some of the common pitfalls, so you can get to the important part: enjoying your holiday abroad.
Our thanks to Phil Friend for taking the time to speak with us and share his knowledge and experiences of flying as a wheelchair user.
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