All airlines Europe
KLM
Powered wheelchairs accepted · carried free · 48 h notice.
- Advance notice
- 48hours before departure
- Powered wheelchair
- Yes
- Lithium, battery installed
- Not published
- Cost to carry
- Free
Who to contact
Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.
- PhoneUnited States & Canada — KLM Cares (toll-free from Canada)Mon-Sat 08:00-20:00 Eastern; Sunday closed. Languages: English, French
- EmailKLM Cares (USA) — KLM's US accessibility mailbox, hosted on the Air France-KLM group mail domain
- Online form
- Relay / textWhatsApp +31 20 649 0787, linked from KLM's baggage pagesWhatsApp (general KLM customer service, not accessibility-specific)
KLM publishes a dedicated KLM CARES desk for health and assistance requests. The only accessibility phone number printed on the English (US) site is the KLM Cares US line; other markets route through the general contact flow.
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.
"Your electric or battery-powered wheelchair can only be transported in the hold." Carried free of charge; it must meet the per-aircraft size/weight limits. Arrive 3 h before a European flight, 4 h before an intercontinental flight (the Dutch-language page says 2.5 h / 3.5 h).
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Eigen rolstoel meenemen (Dutch wheelchair page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published for mobility aids. KLM's electric-wheelchair section says only that battery-powered chairs travel in the hold and that batteries/power cables may have to be disconnected; it sets no lithium-specific rule.
Not published for mobility aids. KLM's lithium-battery text (100 Wh, 100-160 Wh by permission, >160 Wh never) is written for personal electronic devices and spare batteries/power banks, and KLM does not state that it applies to wheelchairs. ICAO/IATA default applies — see global rules.
Not published for mobility aids. ICAO/IATA default applies — see global rules.
Not published for mobility-aid spare batteries. The 100 Wh / 160 Wh figures on KLM's restricted-items pages are for personal electronic devices and power banks, not wheelchairs.
Not published for mobility aids. KLM's hand-baggage page allows up to 20 spare batteries and 2 power banks for consumer electronics, but says nothing about spare wheelchair batteries.
"Depending on the type of wheelchair, we may also ask you to disconnect the batteries or power cables and isolate the terminals, to prevent short circuits." KLM describes disconnection rather than removal into the cabin, and only case by case.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. KLM's wheelchair page does not distinguish battery chemistries.
Not published. KLM's wheelchair page does not distinguish battery chemistries (wet/spillable, gel, dry or lithium) at all.
KLM may ask you to disconnect the batteries or power cables and isolate the terminals to prevent short circuits, depending on the type of wheelchair.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No battery spec sheet, MSDS or form is required on KLM's wheelchair page. (A medical information form is required for supplemental oxygen, not for wheelchairs.)
Same per-aircraft table as manual chairs; smallest figure in each dimension: L112 cm (737), W100 cm and H80 cm (Embraer). A330/777/787 L152 x W139 x H149 cm; 737 L112 x W113 x H85 cm; Embraer L120 x W100 x H80 cm.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Only the Embraer fleet has a published cap: E175/E190/E195-E2 "maximum 149 kg". A330, 737, 777 and 787: "no maximum weight".
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not stated for electric chairs. KLM's "keeping your wheelchair until the gate" and gate-return text sits under the manual-wheelchair "in the hold" heading and is not repeated in the electric-wheelchair section; ask KLM Cares.
Detachable parts (cushions, footrests) should travel in hand baggage and count as extra permitted hand baggage; if they cannot be detached, tape them to the chair. Self-balancing personal mobility devices are otherwise banned, but are allowed for passengers with reduced mobility with permission requested at least 48 h before departure.
Manual wheelchairs
Manual wheelchairs carried free of charge, either folded in the cabin or checked into the hold.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"You can bring a manual wheelchair with you in the cabin if it's foldable or collapsible." It must meet hand-baggage size and weight limits. Cabin space is limited; if full, KLM gate-checks it free of charge.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"The folded wheelchair should meet the size and weight requirements for hand baggage: maximum L55 x W35 x H25 cm and maximum 12 kg."
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Smallest figure in each dimension across KLM's published per-aircraft checked-wheelchair limits: length 112 cm (Boeing 737), width 100 cm and height 80 cm (Embraer 175/190/195-E2). Full table: A330/777/787 L152 x W139 x H149 cm; 737 L112 x W113 x H85 cm; Embraer L120 x W100 x H80 cm.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Only the Embraer fleet has a published weight cap: E175/E190/E195-E2 "maximum 149 kg". A330, 737, 777 and 787: "no maximum weight". 149 kg is therefore the binding figure if any leg is on an Embraer.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
If you ask at booking, the chair is loaded at the gate; "On arrival, we do our utmost best to return your wheelchair to you at the gate. If this is not possible, you can collect it next to your flight's baggage belt." Best-effort, not guaranteed.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Check in a manual chair at least 2.5 h before a European flight / 3.5 h before an intercontinental flight. On a connection of less than 3 hours you cannot use your own chair airside — it is transferred straight to the next flight; over 3 hours it can be brought to the gate if requested 48 h ahead, though some airports do not allow this.
Booking & cost
"Make sure to request the transport by contacting us at least 48 hours before departure." The same 48 h applies to requesting an airport wheelchair and to using your own chair to the gate on transfers.
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
KLM: request wheelchair assistance in My Trip, or contact KLM directly at least 48 h before departure; all other assistance requests go through the KLM CARES form, phone or e-mail.
Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 KLM CARES health and assistance request form (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Are you travelling with your own electric or manual wheelchair? We will transport it for you free of charge." If an in-cabin folding chair has to be gate-checked, that is also free of charge. Airport wheelchair assistance is free ("How much to tip wheelchair assistance? Nothing!").
Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published as a number. KLM says only that it "can transport a limited number of wheelchairs per flight, depending on the aircraft type and the size and weight of your wheelchair".
KLM publishes no mobility-aid-specific liability rule. Its US customer commitment says: "Unless otherwise stated, for travel governed by the Montreal Convention, liability for damages for delayed, lost or damaged baggage is limited to a maximum of 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per person."
Customer commitment (flights to/from/within the United States) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
"Foldable wheelchairs designed to fit the aisles of our aircraft are available onboard all KLM and KLM Cityhopper aircraft."
Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Wheelchair-accessible toilets on the Boeing 777, Boeing 787 and Airbus A330 only. The Boeing 737 and Embraer 190 have a foldaway curtain to enlarge the lavatory space. All KLM toilets have toilet handles.
Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Ground agents assist with boarding and disembarking, and you may pre-board. Cabin crew will help you use the onboard wheelchair but "are not allowed to lift or carry you or assist you within the toilet area", nor with eating or medical services — for that you must bring your own travelling companion. A safety assistant is required if you cannot evacuate independently.
Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"We have aisle and middle seats with moveable armrests, so you can transfer more easily into your seat." KLM will try to seat you next to your travelling companion at no extra cost.
Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet detail. Published maximum checked-wheelchair size by aircraft (same for manual and electric): Airbus A330 L152 x W139 x H149 cm, no maximum weight; Boeing 737 L112 x W113 x H85 cm, no maximum weight; Boeing 777 and 787 L152 x W139 x H149 cm, no maximum weight; Embraer 175, 190 and 195-E2 L120 x W100 x H80 cm and maximum 149 kg. KLM also warns it can carry only a limited number of wheelchairs per flight depending on aircraft type.
Worth knowing
KLM shares an IT platform with Air France but publishes its own accessibility content on klm.com; everything here is from KLM's own pages. Its assistance desk is branded KLM CARES. Big gap: KLM publishes detailed per-aircraft wheelchair dimensions but no watt-hour limit, battery-chemistry rule, spare-battery allowance or documentation requirement for mobility aids — the 100/160 Wh figures on klm.com are for consumer electronics only. Inconsistency to re-check: the English page says arrive 3 h (European) / 4 h (intercontinental) before departure with an electric chair, while the Dutch page says 2.5 h / 3.5 h. Airport assistance is delivered by a third party. KLM designates Complaint Resolution Officials at all covered US airports.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Bringing your own wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Mobility assistance and airport wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Restricted items in your small bag and hand baggage (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Restricted and prohibited items in checked baggage (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Contact KLM — assistance while travelling (KLM Cares, United States) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 KLM CARES health and assistance request form (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s7 Customer commitment (flights to/from/within the United States) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s8 Air Carrier Access Act (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s9 Assistance and health (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s10 Eigen rolstoel meenemen (Dutch wheelchair page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s11 Medicines and medical equipment (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 11 official sources · 4 contacts · 61% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.