wheelair

All airlines Europe

German Airways

IATA ZQ ICAO GER Germany · germanairways.com (opens in a new tab)

24 h notice.

Advance notice
24hours before departure
Powered wheelchair
Not published
Lithium, battery installed
Not published
Cost to carry
Not published

Fragments only. German Airways publishes some assistance information but not a full mobility-aid policy. What is below is everything it actually states. Everything marked “not published” genuinely is — confirm it with the airline rather than assuming the international baseline applies.

Wet-lease / ACMI operator. German Airways usually flies aircraft and crew on behalf of other airlines. If your ticket says another airline, that airline’s wheelchair policy governs your booking — but the aircraft’s physical hold limits are this operator’s.

Who to contact

Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.

There is no accessibility or disability desk, and no special-assistance phone number, email or form. The contact page states plainly: 'Sollten Sie Ihren Flug nicht direkt bei German Airways gebucht haben, kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihren Reiseveranstalter oder die entsprechende Fluggesellschaft. German Airways hat leider keinen Zugriff auf Buchungen, die bei anderen Fluggesellschaften getätigt wurden.' — if the flight was sold by another airline (German Airways wet-leases for European network carriers), assistance must be arranged with that airline, not with German Airways.

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
Not published

Not published. Neither the Conditions of Carriage nor the passenger dangerous-goods notice mentions battery-powered wheelchairs or mobility aids. The dangerous-goods notice asks passengers to enquire about exceptions and carriage options for dangerous goods at service@germanairways.com.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Wichtige Hinweise für Fluggäste — Mitnahme von Gefahrgut (F-GRH-001 REV 0 DE, PDF) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Lithium-ion batteries
Not published

Not published for mobility aids. The Conditions of Carriage §5(3)(d) only cover loose lithium batteries 'wie sie in elektronischen Gebrauchsgütern wie z.B. in Powerbanks, Laptops, Computern, Mobiltelefonen, Uhren, oder Kameras gebräuchlich sind' — the consumer-electronics case, not a wheelchair.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

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

Not published. German Airways publishes no watt-hour figure for a wheelchair battery of any kind. ICAO/IATA defaults apply — see global rules.

Watt-hour cap — battery removed into the cabin
Not published

Not published — no watt-hour cap for a battery removed from a wheelchair, and no instruction on carrying one in the cabin.

Watt-hour cap — spare battery
Not published

Not published for wheelchairs. The 100-160 Wh figure in §5(3)(d) of the Conditions of Carriage is the general consumer-electronics spare-battery rule (power banks, laptops, cameras) and is not written for mobility aids.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Spare batteries permittedmaximum number under any published configuration
Not published

Not published for wheelchairs. The Conditions of Carriage limit general consumer-electronics spares to 'höchstens zwei einzelne Lithium-Batterien oder Akkumulatoren mit einer Wattstundenleistung zwischen 100Wh und max. 160Wh', hand baggage only and subject to prior approval — a portable-electronics rule that German Airways does not extend to mobility aids.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Battery must be removed
Not published

Not published — German Airways does not say whether a wheelchair battery must be removed.

Non-spillable batteriesgel, AGM, sealed lead-acid, dry cell
Not published

Not published — no rule for gel, AGM, sealed lead-acid or dry-cell mobility-aid batteries.

Wet / spillable batteries
Not published

Not published — no rule for spillable/wet-battery mobility aids.

Terminal protection & immobilisation
Not published

Not published for wheelchairs. §5(3)(d) requires only that loose consumer lithium batteries 'müssen vor Beschädigung oder Kurzschluss geschützt sein' — protected against damage and short circuit.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Paperwork the airline wants
Not published

Not published — no battery specification sheet, MSDS, manufacturer label or form is required for a mobility aid.

Size limit for a powered chair
Not published

Not published — no maximum dimensions for a powered wheelchair, and no published hold-door figures for the Embraer E190-100LR fleet.

Weight limit for a powered chair
Not published

Not published — no weight limit is stated for a powered wheelchair.

Returned at the aircraft door
Not published

Not published.

The one lithium provision German Airways does publish (Conditions of Carriage §5(3)(d)) is a general consumer-electronics rule: loose lithium batteries must travel in hand baggage only; a maximum of two individual batteries rated between 100 Wh and 160 Wh may be carried and they require prior approval. It is not written for wheelchairs and must not be read as a wheelchair-battery allowance.

Manual wheelchairs

Manual chairs accepted
Not published

Not published. German Airways' entire published passenger documentation — the Conditions of Carriage, the dangerous-goods notice and the Dokumente page — contains no reference to wheelchairs or mobility aids. The only relevant provision is the generic 24-hour notification duty for passengers needing special assistance (§4(1)).

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Dokumente — the airline's published passenger documents (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Wichtige Hinweise für Fluggäste — Mitnahme von Gefahrgut (F-GRH-001 REV 0 DE, PDF) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Folding chair may travel in the cabin
Not published

Not published — no in-cabin wheelchair stowage rule appears in any German Airways document.

In-cabin stowage limit
Not published

Not published — no in-cabin stowage space for a folding chair is described.

Size limit for a checked manual chair
Not published

Not published — no maximum wheelchair dimensions, and no hold-door aperture figure for the Embraer E190 fleet, appear anywhere on the site.

Weight limit for a manual chair
Not published

Not published for mobility aids. The general checked-baggage piece limits are 23 kg (Economy) and 32 kg (Business); German Airways does not say whether these apply to a wheelchair.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Returned at the aircraft door
Not published

Not published — German Airways says nothing about where a wheelchair is handed over or returned.

German Airways reserves a broad right of refusal for baggage under §5(2): it may refuse carriage of baggage that is unsuitable 'aufgrund von Größe, Form, Gewicht, Art und Inhalt oder aus Sicherheitsgründen', or that is not packed in suitcases or similar containers so as to ensure safe transport. Nothing carves out mobility aids.

Booking & cost

Advance notice requiredhours before scheduled departure
24h

General Conditions of Carriage §4(1): 'Eine Beförderung von Personen, die besondere Betreuung benötigen, und deren Betreuungsbedarf sind German Airways so früh wie möglich, jedenfalls nicht weniger als 24 Stunden vor planmäßigem Abflug anzuzeigen.' — passengers needing special assistance, and the nature of that need, must be notified as early as possible and in any case not less than 24 hours before scheduled departure. 'Bei nicht erfolgter oder verspäteter Anzeige kann eine entsprechende Betreuung von German Airways nicht sichergestellt werden.'

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

How to request assistance
Notify German Airways at least 24 h before scheduled departure — but if the flight was not booked directly with German Airways, arrange assistance with the marketing airline or tour operator instead

The Conditions of Carriage require notification of the need for special assistance at least 24 hours ahead but name no channel; the only published channels are +49 2203 967 100, info@germanairways.com and the website contact form. The contact page warns that German Airways has no access to bookings made with other airlines, which covers most of its flying.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Kontakt / Contact us 24/7 (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Charge for carrying the aid
Not published

Not published. The Conditions of Carriage §5(1) set the free baggage allowance (Economy 1 piece up to 23 kg; Business 2 pieces up to 32 kg each) and state that 'die Beförderung von Sonder- oder Sportgepäck ist zuschlagspflichtig' — special or sports baggage carries a surcharge. Mobility aids are not mentioned at all, so it is not stated whether they are carried free or outside the allowance.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Mobility devices carried free
Not published

Not published — German Airways states no number of mobility devices carried per passenger.

If they damage your chair
1,519 SDR per passenger (approx. EUR 1,900) under the Montreal Convention

Conditions of Carriage: 'German Airways haftet für die Zerstörung, den Verlust oder die Beschädigung von Gepäck bis zu einer Höhe von 1.519 SZR (ca. EUR 1.900).' A higher limit applies only if the passenger makes a special declaration of interest at check-in and pays the requested surcharge. Checked baggage carries strict (fault-independent) liability; unchecked baggage only for fault. No mobility-aid exception is published, and damage must be reported within 7 days of receiving the baggage.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

On board

On-board aisle chair
Not published

Not published — German Airways makes no statement about an on-board aisle wheelchair on its Embraer E190 fleet.

Accessible lavatory
Not published

Not published.

Crew help you transfer
Not published

Not published. The Conditions of Carriage acknowledge 'Personen, die besondere Betreuung benötigen' and require 24 hours' notice, but describe no on-board assistance and give no indication of what 'Betreuung' includes.

Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Seating & movable armrests
Not published

Not published — no movable-armrest, bulkhead or emergency-exit-row rule for passengers with reduced mobility.

Worth knowing

German Airways is a wet-lease (ACMI) and charter operator: its own English about-page describes 'tailored wet lease solutions for established airlines, exclusive charter flights and private aviation', with a fleet of eight to nine Embraer E190-100LR jets flying 'throughout Europe in both single charter and wet lease capacities for the scheduled services of other airlines'; the German home page advertises German Airways as the partner for KLM Cityhopper and Condor flights. For almost every passenger, therefore, the contracting airline's accessibility policy applies, not German Airways' — the contact page says outright that German Airways has no access to bookings made with other airlines and directs passengers to their tour operator or the operating/marketing airline. The operator_type in the stub has been corrected from 'scheduled_passenger' to 'acmi_charter' on the strength of the airline's own description; passenger_service is left true because it does fly charters under its own Conditions of Carriage. Those Conditions of Carriage are the only passenger policy document German Airways publishes, and they contain no reference whatsoever to wheelchairs or mobility aids — only a generic requirement to notify a need for 'besondere Betreuung' at least 24 hours before departure, a general consumer-electronics lithium rule, and Montreal Convention baggage liability of 1,519 SDR. There is no accessibility page, no assistance form, no disability phone line and no CRO. The one useful discovery is the address service@germanairways.com, printed on the passenger dangerous-goods notice as the channel for asking about carriage of restricted items — the closest thing to a battery-enquiry contact the airline offers. Everything else about a powered chair on a ZQ-operated flight has to be settled with the airline that sold the ticket.

Sources

Every figure above traces to one of these.

  1. s1 Allgemeine Beförderungsbedingungen (General Conditions of Carriage), version 7 January 2025 (PDF, DE) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  2. s2 Dokumente — the airline's published passenger documents (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  3. s3 Kontakt / Contact us 24/7 (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  4. s4 Wichtige Hinweise für Fluggäste — Mitnahme von Gefahrgut (F-GRH-001 REV 0 DE, PDF) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  5. s5 About German Airways — wet lease and charter operator, Embraer E190 fleet (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29

Record quality

Record status partial · confidence medium · 5 official sources · 4 contacts · 11% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.