Passengers requiring wheelchairs
Find out more about the services for Lufthansa passengers who are dependent on a wheelchair at the airport and on board.
Booking and reservation
When you book your trip, you can help us to provide the service you need on the ground and during your flight. We require some advance information from you so that we can ensure your comfort at the airport and on board our aircraft. Please let us know what assistance you require at least 48 hours before departure to ensure you receive the best support. We can no longer guarantee the best assistance and support if you register at shorter notice.
Please let us know what assistance you require either by telephone or online. When booking tickets by telephone or at a travel agency, please indicate your needs before completing the booking.
Please note that this online service is only available in German and English.
Please note that, in principle, you are free to choose the seat that best meets your requirements. We hope you will understand, however, that for safety reasons there may be restrictions on your choice. Almost all seats on the Lufthansa fleet have moveable armrests which make access to your seat easier. If you wish to attach a seating device to your seat, then for safety reasons we must check the device beforehand. In this case, please contact our Medical Operation Center.
In addition, we can transport up to two mobility aids (e.g. wheelchair or walking frame) for you free of charge either in the cabin or in the hold.
Your own battery-powered wheelchair
If you are travelling with your own battery-powered wheelchair, you must ascertain in advance for safety reasons whether this battery may be carried on an aircraft.
Please complete the form below and email it to us at specialcases@dlh.de. Based on the details you provide, we will check whether it is possible to transport your battery-powered wheelchair.
Note: please use Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the document correctly.
Services in detail
Please allow enough time to arrive at the airport and check in without having to rush. We recommend you arrive at the airport 90 minutes before departure. Before you fly out, it is also a good idea to find out about the exact conditions at the airport you will be flying back from.
Please tell our staff at the check-in counter about the booked service so that you can be given preferential attention and escorted on board before the other passengers, where necessary. Although it is not compulsory, it would help us if you tell us the nature of your medical problem (e.g. reduced mobility or a pacemaker).
In all cases where assistance is required, we will take the passenger to and from the aircraft and offer assistance with catching connecting flights.
Please note the following rules for the carriage of wheelchairs:
- You will be provided with a wheelchair free of charge. Equally, if you want to take your own foldable wheelchair with you, we will not charge you to transport it. Your wheelchair will be carried in the hold.
- If you will need a wheelchair at your departure and/or destination airport, please make sure you inform us of this either at the time of or after booking. If you are taking your own wheelchair with you, please tell us its dimensions and weight as well as any specific features (foldable/non-foldable, sports wheelchair, etc.). Some restrictions regarding size and weight of mobility aids apply on smaller aircraft. The cargo doors on the smallest aircraft used, for example, are only 71 cm wide.
- You are welcome to use your foldable wheelchair until you reach the departure gate. At check-in the wheelchair will be supplied with a “Delivery at Aircraft” baggage tag. It will be loaded directly onto the aircraft.
In the case of battery-powered wheelchairs, safety-related restrictions may apply. - If your wheelchair is battery-powered, please find out what type of batteries it uses, and let us know when you book your flight. Depending on the battery type, wheelchairs are subject to certain transport requirements.
During the flight our flight attendants will assist passengers with reduced mobility as much as they can. Please note, however, that our flight attendants cannot carry or lift passengers.
All our long-haul aircraft are fitted with accessible toilets. However, passengers with reduced mobility should bear in mind that the washroom area on an aircraft is generally cramped. In addition, the aisle on an aircraft is usually narrower than on other means of transport.
Services on board for passengers using wheelchairs
Depending on the airport, there are many different transport options available to passengers with reduced mobility. You should therefore be prepared to have to change wheelchairs independently in order to get from the airport to the aircraft. In our aircraft a specially developed on-board wheelchair is available to passengers with reduced mobility, which they can also use to access the toilets.
When you come on board, our cabin crew will be waiting to assist you:
- We will support you during boarding and disembarking
- We will help you to stow your carry-on baggage
- We will assist you in getting to and from the toilet
On arrival at your destination airport, your own wheelchair will be returned to you either immediately upon disembarking, or at the latest at baggage reclaim. In the latter case, you will be taken to baggage reclaim in an airport wheelchair. However, you may have to wait a little while. Please accept our apologies in such cases.
Please note that it is not possible to return your wheelchair to you directly upon disembarking at the following airports: Addis Ababa, Asmara, Billund, Cagliari, Catania, Hanover, Nuremberg, Olbia, Palermo, Riyadh, Stuttgart, Valencia.
For longer stopovers in Frankfurt or Munich, we have set up a waiting lounge and we will take you there in the wheelchair.
If mobility aids are damaged and we accept liability for that damage, we do not enforce the maximum compensation amounts set out in the Montreal Convention.
The person who is meeting you at your destination should contact the Lufthansa airport ticket team before your flight arrives to ensure that your support is seamless. At some airports, the person meeting you will be able to come to meet you at baggage reclaim.