According to a European Union (EU) regulation that entered into force on July 26, 2008, persons with reduced mobility shall enjoy, as far as possible, the same opportunities to utilise air travel as other passengers. This regulation means that the airport must offer assistance to persons with reduced mobility and protect them from discrimination.

Read the complete EU regulation in The Official Journal of the European Union.

This information is aimed at persons with reduced mobility, impaired vision or hearing or other disabilities that might make it necessary to plan air travel with extra thoroughness.

Book your trip
If you have reduced mobility that poses special requirements when you fly, you must inform your airline when you book your ticket. According to new EU rules, persons with reduced mobility are entitled to assistance, provided their booking is made no later than 48 hours before the specified flight departure time.

If you are arriving at the airport by train, for instance at Stockholm Arlanda, you should book any assistance you need on board the train with the railway company.
List of railway companies and links to their websites at arlanda.se (new window)

You should book assistance, for instance, if you:

• need special service to get to and from the aircraft and to board,
• use portable oxygen equipment,
• are wheelchair-bound and use a wheelchair or electric/battery-powered wheelchair,
• have impaired vision or hearing and need direct information,
• are accompanied by an assistance (guide) dog.

If the booking was not made in time, you will still receive assistance at the airport – but in that case the airport will not have time to ensure that the service will be exactly as desired.

In most cases, booking via the Internet is not an option for people who have special needs during their journey, since many Internet-based booking systems are not yet capable of receiving such detailed information.

Escorting
The civil aviation network has a comprehensive personal assistance system for individuals with reduced mobility. You can receive escort service from a pick-up point within the airport area or from the check-in counter. Contact your air carrier in advance to find out how much time in advance you need to be at the airport before your flight leaves.

To receive assistance from a pick-up point, you must be there no later than two hours before your specified departure time.

To receive assistance from the check-in counter, you must be there no later than one hour before your specified departure time.

In special cases, your air carrier or tour operator may tell you to arrive at an earlier time.

On long flights, some air carriers may require persons with reduced mobility to be accompanied by someone who can provide assistance during the journey.

An accompanying assistant must be able to provide the necessary help at the airport as well as during boarding and debarkation.

Assistance dog
It is important that you indicate at the time of booking that you will be travelling with an assistance (guide) dog.

The rules for travelling with an assistance dog may vary, depending on which air carrier you fly with and what country you are flying to. This is why it is important for you to contact the air carrier you will be travelling on well in advance of your journey.

Escort service when departing
Escort staff members normally board the aircraft with you before the other passengers board. The aircraft is then empty, and there is plenty of room to help you into your seat.

If you are wheelchair-bound, you will be moved from the wheelchair to a narrow “cabin wheelchair” that fits in the narrow aircraft aisle. The changeover from the wheelchair to the cabin wheelchair will occur in the jetty (passenger bridge) immediately outside the aircraft door.

Boarding
If the airport has no jetties, the passenger will be carried up the stairs into the aircraft. Some airports have special vehicles for boarding that are used when there are no jetties. In that case, the passenger rolls into the vehicle compartment, which is raised to the aircraft door, and the passenger rolls on board the aircraft. Depending on how the airport is equipped, boarding may occur in different ways.

On arrival
On arrival, escort staff will meet you outside the aircraft door. If you cannot move inside the aircraft, escort staff will help you after the other passengers have disembarked. If you are wheelchair-bound, you will be moved from the cabin wheelchair to your own manual wheelchair when you have exited through the aircraft door. If you have an electric wheelchair, you will ordinarily change first to the manual wheelchair provided by the airport at the aircraft door and retrieve your electric wheelchair in the baggage hall. You should be able to provide clear information about how to assemble this wheelchair. If assembly is complicated, you must make sure in advance that you will receive the help that is needed.

You will be escorted from the aircraft, through any passport control and onward to the arriving baggage conveyor, where your baggage will be retrieved, then to the Customs checkpoint. The escort service ends at the pick-up point close to your next form of transport if you will be continuing by taxi, bus or train from Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

Escort staff will also assist you to connecting aircraft if you will be flying onward from the airport.

Think about carefully planning your continued transport from the airport to your hotel or other abode after reaching your final destination.

Complaints
Persons with reduced mobility who do not believe that they have received the help described above may contact the airport in question and communicate their opinions.

For information about the rules that apply during your actual air travel, please contact your air carrier or tour operator.