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Bulgaria Air
Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 72 h notice.
- Advance notice
- 72hours before departure
- Powered wheelchair
- Conditional
- Lithium, battery installed
- Not published
- Cost to carry
- Free
Who to contact
Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.
- PhoneBulgaria — Customer Service Centre (the channel Bulgaria Air names for special-assistance and own-wheelchair requests)Every day 08:00–20:00
- PhoneSofia city office, Ivan Vazov 2 str.Every day 09:00–17:30 (lunch 13:00–13:30; open to clients until 17:00)
- PhoneLondon Heathrow airport office (relevant: WCHC at Heathrow is only offered if you bring your own wheelchair)Mon–Fri 09:30–17:30 local
- PhoneVarna city officeEvery day 09:00–17:30 (lunch 12:30–13:30)
- EmailCustomer Service Centre — the address the special-needs page tells you to write to about assistance and mobility aids
- EmailLondon Heathrow airport office
- Online form
Bulgaria Air has no dedicated disability desk, no TTY/relay and no special-assistance email address: the special-needs page routes everything to the general Customer Service Centre (callfb@air.bg / +359 2 402 04 00) or to any Bulgaria Air office. The contact page currently asks customers to prefer email over the phone "due to the high volume on our Customer Service phone lines", promising a reply within one business day. Bulgaria Air does not serve the USA and publishes no DOT Complaints Resolution Official.
Read it from the source
Powered wheelchairs & batteries
The part that goes wrong. Battery chemistry and watt-hours decide whether your chair flies, and the rules differ depending on whether the battery can be removed.
"The carriage of powered (electric) wheelchairs is subject to prior approval by the airline." "Before travel, it must be confirmed that the wheelchair batteries are suitable for air transport and can withstand vibration and pressure changes during the flight without leaking." Declare type, dimensions, weight, battery type and voltage at least 72 h ahead.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Lithium-ion is on the accepted list — "The following battery types are accepted: - Non-spillable wet batteries - Dry batteries (including nickel-metal hydride batteries) - Lithium-ion batteries" — but "the carriage of powered (electric) wheelchairs is subject to prior approval by the airline". No watt-hour figure of any kind is published; 72 h notice of the chair type, dimensions, weight, battery type and voltage, with the batteries disconnected and all exposed terminals insulated before departure.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Bulgaria Air states no watt-hour limit anywhere; it asks for the battery's voltage, not its Wh rating. ICAO/IATA defaults apply — see the global rules.
Not published. Bulgaria Air gives no watt-hour cap for a battery removed into the cabin, and does not say a removed battery is carried in the cabin at all.
Not published. Bulgaria Air says nothing about the watt-hour rating of a spare wheelchair battery.
Not published. The Bulgarian heading mentions spare batteries ("вкл. резервни батерии") but the text that follows sets no count, and the English version omits spares entirely.
Genuinely ambiguous as published. "Powered wheelchairs may only be carried in the aircraft hold if the batteries have been disconnected from the wheelchair and all exposed terminals or connectors have been properly insulated before departure" — the Bulgarian reads "разкачени от основното тяло" (disconnected from the main body). Bulgaria Air never says whether the battery then travels in the cabin, so confirm with the Customer Service Centre.
Listed among "The following battery types are accepted: - Non-spillable wet batteries - Dry batteries (including nickel-metal hydride batteries) - Lithium-ion batteries", but "the carriage of powered (electric) wheelchairs is subject to prior approval by the airline". Tell Bulgaria Air the battery type and voltage at least 72 h before departure; the batteries must be disconnected from the wheelchair and all exposed terminals or connectors properly insulated before departure.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Wheelchairs equipped with spillable wet batteries are not accepted for carriage as checked baggage." (Bulgarian: "Авиокомпанията не приема за превоз инвалидни колички с мокри разливни батерии като регистриран багаж.")
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"For safety reasons, powered wheelchairs may only be carried in the aircraft hold if the batteries have been disconnected from the wheelchair and all exposed terminals or connectors have been properly insulated before departure."
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No battery paperwork is required on the public page — no spec sheet, UN 38.3 certificate or MSDS. Bulgaria Air asks only that you notify the chair type (manual/powered), dimensions, weight, battery type and battery voltage 72 h ahead. A MEDIF form is required for WCHC assistance, not for the battery.
Not published. Bulgaria Air asks for the wheelchair's dimensions but states no maximum and gives no per-aircraft hold table.
Not published. Bulgaria Air asks for the wheelchair's weight but states no maximum.
Not published for powered chairs.
Bulgaria Air recommends arriving at the airport at least two hours before departure "to allow sufficient time for your wheelchair to be properly tagged, prepared for transport, and accepted together with your checked baggage", and refers travellers to IATA guidance for the detailed powered-wheelchair rules rather than publishing watt-hour figures itself.
Manual wheelchairs
Own wheelchairs are carried, free of charge, when requested together with one of the three assistance categories (WCHR, WCHS or WCHC) no later than 72 h before departure. You must tell the airline whether the chair is manual or powered, plus its dimensions, weight, battery type and battery voltage.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Bulgaria Air says nothing about stowing a folding manual wheelchair in the cabin; it describes the chair being "tagged, prepared for transport, and accepted together with your checked baggage".
Not published — Bulgaria Air describes no in-cabin wheelchair stowage.
Not published. Bulgaria Air asks you to declare your wheelchair's dimensions 72 h ahead but publishes no maximum size and no per-aircraft hold or cargo-door table.
Not published for wheelchairs. The 32 kg figure on Bulgaria Air's baggage page ("Baggage weighing over 32 kg can only be transported as cargo") governs ordinary checked pieces, and the airline does not state that it applies to mobility aids.
Not published. Bulgaria Air does not say whether a checked wheelchair is returned at the aircraft door or at the baggage carousel. (Its baggage page has a delivery-at-the-aircraft rule for strollers only.)
Bulgaria Air's self-care rule is unusually strict: to be accepted under any of the assistance categories a passenger must be able to "walk independently from their seat to the lavatory and attend to their personal hygiene needs without assistance", communicate with cabin crew, and manage eating, drinking and medication alone. WCHC passengers must travel with an escort. Passengers who cannot evacuate independently, or cannot remain in a standard seat for the whole flight, are not carried without a suitable escort; completely immobile passengers requiring a stretcher are not carried at all.
Booking & cost
"The airline must be informed of any request for special assistance at the time of booking or ticket purchase, and no later than 72 hours prior to the scheduled departure time." The same 72 h deadline applies to carrying your own wheelchair. Failure to notify in time "may result in the requested service being delayed or unavailable".
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"WCHC assistance cannot be requested online. This service can only be confirmed after the airline has received additional information regarding the passenger's medical condition together with a completed Medical Information Form (MEDIF)." Arrive at check-in at least two hours before departure.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"If you wish to travel with your own wheelchair, you may transport it free of charge as part of your checked baggage allowance." Bulgaria Air says carriage is free but — unlike most European carriers — words it as part of the checked allowance rather than in addition to it, and publishes no separate mobility-aid allowance. Worth confirming with the Customer Service Centre.
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Bulgaria Air states no number of mobility devices carried free per passenger.
Not published for mobility aids. Bulgaria Air's footer links the text of the Montreal Convention and of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, but the airline states no mobility-aid damage procedure, no full-value rule and no liability figure for a damaged wheelchair.
On board
Not published. Bulgaria Air describes airport wheelchair assistance to and from the aircraft seat but says nothing about an on-board aisle chair.
Not published, and implicitly ruled out: Bulgaria Air requires passengers accepted under its assistance categories to be able to "walk independently from their seat to the lavatory" unaided. The fleet is all narrowbody (Airbus A320-family and Embraer regional jets).
WCHC includes "transfer to and from the aircraft seat", but only with an escort: "Passengers requiring WCHC assistance must travel with an accompanying person (escort)." And there is a station exclusion: "Important for travel to London Heathrow: Due to operational requirements at Heathrow Airport, this service is available only if the passenger is travelling with their own wheelchair."
Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Bulgaria Air's special-needs page says nothing about movable armrests, bulkhead seats, free seat assignment or exit-row restrictions for passengers with disabilities.
Worth knowing
The English and Bulgarian versions of the special-needs page carry the same text; nothing extra is published in Bulgarian. What Bulgaria Air publishes is procedural, not numeric: 72 h notice, prior approval for any powered chair, spillable wet-cell chairs refused, batteries disconnected and terminals insulated — and no watt-hour limit, no maximum wheelchair weight and no maximum dimensions anywhere on the site. Three things a human should re-check. (1) The page says a powered chair's battery must be "disconnected from the wheelchair" but never says whether it then travels in the cabin or stays with the chair; removal_required is left null for that reason. (2) The self-care requirements contradict the WCHC category: the page demands passengers be able to walk unaided from their seat to the lavatory, while WCHC is defined as "completely immobile". (3) WCHC at London Heathrow is provided only if the passenger brings their own wheelchair. Bulgaria Air also lists a long set of medical conditions it will not carry, including any passenger needing a stretcher. Carriage of an own wheelchair is described as free but "as part of your checked baggage allowance", not in addition to it.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Passengers with Special Needs — assistance categories, own wheelchair, powered-wheelchair and battery requirements (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Пътници със специални нужди (Bulgarian edition of the special-needs page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Contact Us — Customer Service Center, city and airport offices (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Baggage Policy — free allowances, excess baggage and the 32 kg per-piece ceiling (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence medium · 4 official sources · 7 contacts · 41% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.