wheelair

All airlines Middle East

Emirates

IATA EK ICAO UAE United Arab Emirates · www.emirates.com (opens in a new tab)

Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 48 h notice.

Advance notice
48hours 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.

Emirates publishes no dedicated disability-only telephone line; assistance is booked through Manage a booking, the general local contact-centre numbers, or a travel agent. The only accessibility-specific channel is the US/Canada TTY number and the US-route CROs.

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.

Powered chairs accepted
Conditional

Carried only with Emirates' prior approval: every battery-powered mobility-device category in the dangerous-goods table is marked "NEED APPROVAL — Contact us", and "It is recommended that customers make advance arrangements with Emirates". Emirates needs to know "the type of battery, the size of the wheelchair and the weight ahead of your flight". Personal motorised vehicles (rideable scooters, hoverboards, mini-Segways) and "all smart balance wheels (even with the lithium batteries removed)" are banned outright.

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Unusual baggage and special allowances — Passengers with disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Lithium-ion batteries
Conditional

Accepted only with Emirates approval ("NEED APPROVAL"). Emirates has a dedicated entry for "Mobility Devices: Battery-powered mobility aids with lithium-ion batteries (collapsible)" and also allows lithium batteries to stay installed on non-collapsible aids that can be kept upright, noting "extra limitations apply for Lithium batteries which can be obtained from Emirates".

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Watt-hour cap — battery stays in the chair
Not published

Not published for a battery that stays installed. For a non-collapsible aid that can be loaded, stowed, secured and unloaded always upright, the battery "may remain installed in the wheelchair", but Emirates gives no watt-hour figure for that case — "extra limitations apply for Lithium batteries which can be obtained from Emirates". The 300 Wh figure applies to a removed battery (see lithium_wh_removed_max).

Watt-hour cap — battery removed into the cabin
300 Wh

For collapsible lithium-ion mobility aids the battery "must be removed and carried in the cabin. The batteries for such wheelchair must not exceed 300 watt hours or for a device that is fitted with two batteries required for operation, each battery must not exceed 160 watt hours." This is the cap on the aid's own battery once it is removed into the cabin, not on a battery left installed.

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Watt-hour cap — spare battery
300 Wh

"A maximum of one extra spare battery not exceeding 300 watt hours or two spares each not exceeding 160 watt hours each can be carried in the cabin."

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Spare batteries permittedmaximum number under any published configuration
2

One spare of up to 300 Wh, OR two spares of up to 160 Wh each, carried in the cabin. Spares may not go in the hold.

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Battery must be removed
Conditional

Yes for collapsible lithium-ion mobility aids — the battery "must be removed and carried in the cabin". No for non-spillable/spillable/lithium aids that can be loaded, stowed, secured and unloaded always upright: the battery "may remain installed in the wheelchair" if terminals are protected and it is securely attached.

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Non-spillable batteriesgel, AGM, sealed lead-acid, dry cell
Conditional

Accepted only with Emirates approval — the dangerous goods entry is marked "NEED APPROVAL": battery-powered wheelchairs "with non-spillable-wet batteries or with batteries which comply with IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Special Provision A123 or A199, provided the batteries are protected from short circuit, e.g. by being enclosed in a battery container, and the battery is securely attached to the wheelchair or mobility aid."

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Wet / spillable batteries
Conditional

Accepted with Emirates approval: "Provided that the wheelchair or mobility aid can be loaded, stowed, secured and unloaded always in an upright position then the battery may remain installed in the wheelchair. The battery terminals must be protected from short circuits… and the battery must be securely attached."

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Terminal protection & immobilisation
Yes

"The battery terminals must be protected from short circuits, e.g. by being enclosed within a battery container, and the battery must be securely attached to the wheelchair or mobility aid." Non-spillable batteries must likewise be "protected from short circuit, e.g. by being enclosed in a battery container".

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Paperwork the airline wants
Advance Emirates approval required; declare battery type, wheelchair size and weight before the flight; bring written disassembly/assembly instructions

Emirates does not publish a required battery spec sheet, MSDS or UN 38.3 certificate. It does mark every mobility-device battery category "NEED APPROVAL — Contact us", requires "the type of battery, the size of the wheelchair and the weight ahead of your flight", and asks for "written instructions on the disassembly and assembly of your wheelchair".

Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Size limit for a powered chairCargo-hold door opening — not a stated chair limit
258.8 cm wide · 170.2 cm high

Same cargo-compartment DOOR apertures as for manual chairs; the binding (smallest) is the B777-200LR/300ER at 101.9 in (258.8 cm) wide x 67 in (1.7 m / 170.2 cm) high. These are door openings, not a published maximum wheelchair size; no length figure is published.

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Weight limit for a powered chair
Not published

Not published. Emirates only requires that it be told the weight of the wheelchair in advance so the aid "is carried securely and within the regulations".

Returned at the aircraft door
Yes

"If you're using your own wheelchair up to boarding, we'll stow your wheelchair in the aircraft hold. On arrival, your wheelchair will be brought to the aircraft door so you can transfer back to your own." Subject to "where local authorities and regulations permit".

On board — Getting on and off the plane (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Emirates recommends arriving at the airport three hours before departure when travelling with an electric wheelchair or mobility aid.

Manual wheelchairs

Manual chairs accepted
Yes

Emirates carries passengers' own manual wheelchairs: "We can arrange a wheelchair at every airport and help you travel with your own wheelchair or mobility aids." A fully collapsible wheelchair may be checked free of charge.

Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Unusual baggage and special allowances — Passengers with disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Folding chair may travel in the cabin
Yes

"You can bring medical equipment and up to two mobility aids with you into the cabin, such as your own collapsible manual wheelchair." Conditional: "Before you fly, we will need to check your wheelchair or mobility aids can be carried and stowed securely in the cabin and that we have enough space available. Otherwise, you can check them in."

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

In-cabin stowage limit
Not published

No dimensions published. Emirates allows "up to two mobility aids with you into the cabin, such as your own collapsible manual wheelchair", but sets no size: "Before you fly, we will need to check your wheelchair or mobility aids can be carried and stowed securely in the cabin and that we have enough space available."

Size limit for a checked manual chairCargo-hold door opening — not a stated chair limit
258.8 cm wide · 170.2 cm high

Cargo-compartment DOOR aperture, not a maximum wheelchair size: "we have provided the dimensions of the cargo compartment doors for each type of aircraft we operate". Smallest in the fleet is the B777-200LR/300ER: 101.9 in (258.8 cm) wide x 67 in (1.7 m / 170.2 cm) high. Full per-aircraft table in aircraft_hold_note. No length/depth figure is published.

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Weight limit for a manual chair
Not published

Not published for mobility aids. Emirates only says a checked wheelchair must be "packed properly to travel safely in the aircraft's hold" and that it depends "on its size and weight". (Emirates' general checked-baggage rule of 32 kg per individual bag is not stated to apply to mobility aids.)

Returned at the aircraft door
Yes

"Where local authorities and regulations permit, we will do our best to return your wheelchair or mobility aid as close to the aircraft door as possible upon arrival. If that is not feasible, we'll have a wheelchair waiting for you" and you collect your own from the baggage hall.

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  On board — Getting on and off the plane (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Emirates asks for written disassembly/assembly instructions so the chair can be packed safely, and records any pre-existing damage at check-in. Canes, crutches and walking sticks may be taken on board and are stowed by the crew.

Booking & cost

Advance notice requiredhours before scheduled departure
48h

"Tell us how we can support you when you book. You can make a request through Manage a booking, or call us at least 48 hours before you travel." The mobility-assistance page frames it softly — "We recommend notifying us at the time of booking or contact us at least 48 hours before your flight" — but MEDIF, where medical clearance is needed, is a hard deadline: "submit your medical form within a month before you travel and no later than 48 hours before your flight".

Accessible and inclusive travel hub (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Before the flight — Medical forms and equipment (MEDIF, FREMEC) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

How to request assistance
Request at booking, through Manage a booking, via your travel agent, or by calling the local Emirates office at least 48 h before travel (TTY 1-888-320-1576 from USA/Canada)

Emirates: tell them at booking; a request can be added through Manage a booking, by calling a local Emirates number, or by a travel agent. Battery-powered wheelchairs additionally need Emirates approval ("Contact us" against every mobility-device entry in the dangerous-goods table).

Accessible and inclusive travel hub (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Help — Special assistance and wellness form (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Charge for carrying the aid
No fee

"Passengers with disabilities are entitled to extra baggage allowances, free of charge" — a fully collapsible wheelchair may be checked, plus braces/crutches and a portable dialysis machine. Up to two mobility aids taken into the cabin "won't count towards your total cabin baggage allowance".

Unusual baggage and special allowances — Passengers with disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Mobility devices carried free
2

"You can bring medical equipment and up to two mobility aids with you into the cabin, such as your own collapsible manual wheelchair, and they won't count towards your total cabin baggage allowance." Emirates does not publish a cap on the number of mobility aids checked into the hold.

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

If they damage your chair
Montreal Convention limit — 1,519 SDR per passenger for checked and unchecked baggage; no mobility-aid-specific waiver published

Conditions of Carriage art. 15.5.4: 1,519 SDR per passenger under the Montreal Convention (332 SDR unchecked / 17 SDR per kg checked under Warsaw), unless a higher special declaration of value is bought at check-in. No wheelchair-specific full-value rule is published; art. 7.9.1 notes only that on US routes "application of local rules" may apply.

Emirates Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage (PDF), Article 15.5 (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

On board

On-board aisle chair
Yes

"We have a wheelchair designed specifically for the aircraft for boarding and use during the flight." Passengers using their own chair to the gate transfer to the on-board wheelchair at the aircraft door. Emirates does not list any aircraft exceptions.

Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  On board — Getting on and off the plane (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Accessible lavatory
Conditional

Named aircraft types only: "All our A350, A380 and Boeing 777-300ER ultra-long-range aircraft have toilets that are accessible to the onboard wheelchair. On the A380 there is an accessible toilet on each deck." Emirates makes no such statement for its other Boeing 777 variants (777-200LR, non-ULR 777-300ER) and warns that "features on actual flights may vary depending on routes and aircraft configuration". Check the aircraft type under Manage Your Booking.

On board — Onboard experience (accessible toilets) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  FAQs — Special assistance and requests (mixed-fleet disclaimer) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Crew help you transfer
No

Crew move you around the cabin in the on-board wheelchair and fetch items from lockers, but: "If you need help transferring to your wheelchair, or assistance in the lavatories, with personal care, eating, or with administering medication, you will need to travel with an assistant" (assistant must be 16+, seated adjoining, able to help evacuate).

Before the flight — Travelling with an assistant (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  On board — Seats and cabin assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Seating & movable armrests
Accessible aisle seat allocated on request; all seats have arm rests that lift; exit-row seats refused only to passengers unable to move unassisted or follow crew instructions

"We'll allocate an accessible seat on the aisle if you need one. Our seats have moveable armrests to make it easier to transfer between your seat and the onboard wheelchair." "All our seats have arm rests that lift." On exit rows Emirates says only: "we're unable to offer an exit row seat to passengers who are unable to move unassisted or cannot respond to and follow instructions from the cabin crew" — it publishes no blanket ban on wheelchair users.

On board — Seats and cabin assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Fleet detail. Emirates publishes cargo-compartment door apertures (not maximum wheelchair sizes): A350-900 — 114.5 in (2.91 m) wide × 69 in (1.76 m) high; A380-800 — 122.4 in (2.83 m) wide × 68 in (1.72 m) high; B777-200LR and B777-300ER — 101.9 in (2.69 m) wide × 67 in (1.7 m) high. CAUTION: Emirates' imperial and metric figures disagree for the A380 (122.4 in = 3.11 m, not 2.83 m) and the B777 (101.9 in = 2.59 m, not 2.69 m); the smaller of each pair has been used for max_dimensions. Aircraft types are subject to change; check the type under Manage Your Booking.

Worth knowing

Emirates' accessibility content is split across an Accessibility Hub (assistance, boarding, seating, on-board) and the Dangerous Goods Policy (battery rules); the Wh numbers exist only in the DG tables, which render only through the reader proxy. Key points a traveller should know: (1) every battery-powered mobility-device category is marked "NEED APPROVAL — Contact us", so carriage is conditional on Emirates' prior approval, not automatic; (2) Emirates recommends arriving 3 hours before departure with an electric chair; (3) bring written disassembly/assembly instructions; (4) motorised rideable scooters, hoverboards and mini-Segways are refused, and "all smart balance wheels" are refused "even with the lithium batteries removed"; (5) crew will not assist with transfers, toileting, feeding or medication — an assistant aged 16+, seated adjoining and able to help you evacuate, is required for those; (6) accessible lavatories are stated only for the A350, A380 (one per deck) and B777-300ER ULR, so the field is "conditional", not a fleetwide yes; (7) there is no dedicated disability phone line — only the general local contact-centre numbers plus a US/Canada TTY line and CROs on US routes; (8) MEDIF at least 48 h ahead where medical clearance is needed, and a FREMEC card (fremecrequests@emirates.com) can replace repeat clearances.

Sources

Every figure above traces to one of these.

  1. s1 Accessible and inclusive travel hub (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  2. s2 Accessible travel — Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  3. s3 Before the flight — Travelling with a wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  4. s4 Dangerous Goods Policy — Battery powered wheelchairs, personal motorised vehicles and mobility devices (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  5. s5 Unusual baggage and special allowances — Passengers with disabilities (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  6. s6 On board — Getting on and off the plane (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  7. s7 On board — Seats and cabin assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  8. s8 On board — Onboard experience (accessible toilets) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  9. s9 Tools and resources — Complaint resolution officials (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  10. s10 Emirates Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage (PDF), Article 15.5 (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  11. s11 Local Emirates offices — United States (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  12. s12 Local Emirates offices — United Arab Emirates (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  13. s13 Before the flight — Medical forms and equipment (MEDIF, FREMEC) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  14. s14 Before the flight — Travelling with an assistant (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  15. s15 Help — Special assistance and wellness form (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  16. s16 Local Emirates offices — United Kingdom (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  17. s17 Local Emirates offices — Australia (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  18. s18 Local Emirates offices — Canada (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  19. s19 FAQs — Special assistance and requests (mixed-fleet disclaimer) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29

Record quality

Record status researched · confidence high · 19 official sources · 10 contacts · 88% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.