All airlines Middle East
MEA
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.
- PhoneMEA Call Center / Special Services Support Team (Lebanon, reachable internationally)24/7
- PhoneMEAG Special Services — Beirut Rafic Hariri Intl Airport (line 1)
- PhoneMEAG Special Services — Beirut Rafic Hariri Intl Airport (line 2)
- EmailSpecial Services Unit (assistance requests, wheelchair/battery approval, medical forms)
- EmailMEAG Special Care — Beirut airport day-of-travel assistance
- EmailCustomer Relations — accessibility feedback (reply within 15 days)
- Online form
The Accessibility Feedback PDF prints the feedback URL as https://www.mea.com.lb/english/support/contact-us, which returns 404; the live contact page is https://www.mea.com.lb/english/Contact-us. Assistance at Beirut is delivered by MEAG (Middle East Airlines Ground Handling); at outstations by MEA's contracted handling agent.
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.
Battery-powered wheelchairs and similar battery-powered mobility devices are "subject to approval" — contact +961 1 629999 or specialsvcs@mea.com.lb. Specifications (size, weight, battery type/nature/power) must be submitted at least 48 h before departure "in order to advise you if it is accepted on our flights".
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Restricted Items — Electrical Items / Battery Driven Wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Lithium-powered mobility aids are accepted only "subject to approval" (+961 1 629999 / specialsvcs@mea.com.lb). For a lithium battery the passenger must supply voltage (V), ampere-hours (Ah) and watt-hours (Wh) at least 48 h before departure so MEA can confirm acceptance.
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Restricted Items — Electrical Items / Battery Driven Wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No Wh cap published for a wheelchair battery that stays installed. MEA's 100 Wh / 100–160 Wh figures apply to portable electronic devices and power banks, not to mobility aids, which are simply "subject to approval".
Not published — MEA gives no Wh cap for a wheelchair battery removed into the cabin.
Not published for mobility-aid spare batteries. MEA's spare-battery limits (0–100 Wh accepted, 100–160 Wh subject to approval, max two power banks) are stated for portable electronic devices.
MEA does not publish how many spare wheelchair batteries may be carried. Its "maximum of 2 spare batteries" / "maximum of two power banks" limits are written for portable electronic devices.
"Power driven wheelchairs shall only be accepted as checked baggage provided that the battery is disconnected, and the battery terminals are insulated to prevent accidental short circuits (e.g. by being enclosed within a battery container) and the battery is securely attached to the wheelchair" — the battery stays on the chair, disconnected, unless MEA directs otherwise at approval.
Restricted Items — Electrical Items / Battery Driven Wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
MEA publishes no separate rule for non-spillable / gel / AGM wheelchair batteries. Its dry-battery limits (12 V, 100 Wh, max 2 spares) are written for spare batteries of portable electronic devices, not for mobility aids.
MEA does not distinguish spillable (wet) batteries in its published mobility-aid rules; every battery-powered wheelchair is handled case by case "subject to approval".
The battery must be disconnected and "the battery terminals are insulated to prevent accidental short circuits (e.g. by being enclosed within a battery container)", with the battery securely attached to the wheelchair.
Restricted Items — Electrical Items / Battery Driven Wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
The passenger must notify MEA of the chair's size, weight and specifications "including battery details (type, nature, power, in case of lithium battery you must provide voltage 'V', ampere per hour 'AH', and watt per hour 'WH')" at least 48 h before departure. No MSDS or manufacturer form is named.
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No dimensional limit published for powered wheelchairs.
No weight limit published for powered wheelchairs; acceptance is case by case after the 48 h notification.
Not published — MEA does not say whether a powered chair is returned at the aircraft door.
Powered chairs travel as checked baggage; MEA's restricted-items table shows "subject to approval" in both the cabin and the hold columns for battery-powered mobility devices, the approval channel being +961 1 629999 / specialsvcs@mea.com.lb.
Manual wheelchairs
"If you want to take your own collapsible wheelchair with you, your wheelchair will be carried in the baggage hold free of charge" — but acceptance is MEA's call: you must notify it of the chair's size, weight and specifications "at least 48 hours before Departure in order to advise you if it is accepted on our flights".
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
MEA does not say whether a folding manual chair may be stowed in the cabin; the site only states that a personal collapsible wheelchair is carried in the baggage hold.
MEA publishes no in-cabin stowage dimensions for a folding wheelchair.
No dimensional limit published; acceptance is decided case by case after the passenger supplies size and weight 48 h before departure.
No weight limit published. MEA requires the chair's size, weight and specifications 48 h in advance "in order to advise you if it is accepted on our flights".
Not published. MEA says its own airport wheelchairs "shall be at his/her service at both ends", but says nothing about returning a passenger's own chair at the aircraft door.
MEA also lends its own wheelchairs free of charge — three types depending on need, available at both ends of the journey. A guide dog for a blind passenger travels in the cabin free of charge with no weight or size limit.
Booking & cost
Assistance and carriage of a personal wheelchair must be notified at least 48 hours before departure; "in case no such notification is made in advance, MEA and its contracted service providers will not be able to provide you with the required assistance." A medical report for a medical condition must be sent at least 72 hours ahead.
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"You are required to notify your booking office (either travel agency, MEA sales offices, or MEA Call Center: +961 (0)1 629999; E-mail: specialsvcs@mea.com.lb) at least 48 hours prior to your departure." On the day of travel MEA recommends arriving 3 hours before departure.
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"If you want to take your own collapsible wheelchair with you, your wheelchair will be carried in the baggage hold free of charge." An airport wheelchair supplied by MEA on request is also free of charge.
Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
MEA does not publish a number of mobility devices carried free per passenger.
MEA publishes nothing specific about liability for damage to mobility aids on its accessibility or baggage pages.
On board
MEA does not publish whether an on-board aisle chair is carried.
Not published on MEA's site.
Not published as a service. MEA states cabin crew are trained to assist passengers with mobility impairments, and that a passenger who is not self-reliant or who needs individual nursing/care during the flight must be accompanied by a travelling companion.
MEA's Accessibility Plan lists "accessible seating areas on all aircraft" and "designating accessible seating areas for passengers with mobility impairments". No detail is published on movable armrests or bulkhead seats.
MEA Accessibility Plan 2023–2026 (PDF, linked from the Special Assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Worth knowing
Everything hinges on one sentence: a battery-powered mobility aid is "subject to approval" and MEA will only confirm acceptance after you send the chair's size, weight and full battery spec (V/Ah/Wh) at least 48 hours before departure. No watt-hour ceiling, no weight limit and no dimensions are published for wheelchairs — the 100 Wh / 160 Wh numbers on the restricted-items page are for portable electronic devices and power banks. Assistance at Beirut is delivered by MEAG (Middle East Airlines Ground Handling, specialcare@meag.com.lb, +961 1 622773 / 623773); at outstations by MEA's contracted handling agent. MEA publishes a Canadian Accessible Canada Act accessibility plan and commits to answering accessibility feedback within 15 days. mea.com.lb sits behind Cloudflare: URLs carrying the ?id= query string are challenged, the same paths without it fetch normally.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Special Assistance for Travelers (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Restricted Items — Electrical Items / Battery Driven Wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 MEA Accessibility Plan 2023–2026 (PDF, linked from the Special Assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 MEA Accessibility Feedback 2024 (PDF, linked from the Special Assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Contact Us (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence medium · 5 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.