All airlines Asia Pacific
SriLankan Airlines
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.
- PhoneDisability assistance / 24 Hour Contact Center, Colombo (within Sri Lanka dial 1979)24 hours
- PhoneToll-free disability assistance line printed on the Special Assistance page (no country stated alongside it)
- PhoneSriLankan Airlines Dangerous Goods Unit — battery and lithium-powered device queries
- PhoneDangerous Goods Unit (mobile)
- EmailDisability assistance / reservations (e-mail printed under 'How to contact disability assistance')
- EmailSriLankan Airlines Medical Services — send the scanned MEDIF here at least 48 h before the flight
- EmailDangerous Goods Unit — battery queries
- Online form
- Online form
- Relay / text+94 744 44 1979 — chat only, no voice; listed on the 24 Hour Contact Center pageWhatsApp (chat only)
SriLankan publishes a genuine disability-assistance contact block (phone, toll-free number, fax +94 197 333 999 and e-mail) at the top of its Special Assistance page, plus a separate medical e-mail (nurses@srilankan.com) for MEDIF submissions. It does NOT name its own Complaints Resolution Official: the 'Complaint Resolution for Customers with Special Need' section only lists US DOT hotlines (Voice 1-800-778-4838, TTY 1-800-455-9880) and says that for US codeshare flights the CRO is the partner's. Country-by-country office numbers on the Contact Us page load from a JavaScript dropdown and could not be transcribed.
Read it from the source
- Special Assistance — wheelchairs, mobility equipment and medical clearance (opens in a new tab)
- Baggage — Mobility Aids and the Dangerous Goods / Restricted Items table (the battery rules) (opens in a new tab)
- Medical Information Form (MEDIF) and FREMEC (opens in a new tab)
- Disability Assistance Request form (opens in a new tab)
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.
Accepted as checked baggage but only with the airline's approval. SriLankan's Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table lists battery-powered wheelchairs and similar mobility devices as permitted in or as checked baggage, not as carry-on, with 'The approval of the operator is required: YES' and 'The pilot-in-command must be informed of the location: YES'. The Special Assistance page adds: 'If you have a battery-powered wheelchair, you will need to take certain safeguards before you travel. Please ask for details at the time you make your booking.'
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Dangerous Goods table: battery-powered wheelchairs 'with spillable batteries or with lithium batteries' are permitted as checked baggage with the operator's approval and with the pilot-in-command informed. A separate row covers 'Battery-powered mobility aids with lithium ion batteries (collapsible), battery must be removed and carried in the cabin (see 2.3.2.4(d) for details)' — carry-on YES, checked NO.
Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. SriLankan states no watt-hour cap for a wheelchair battery left installed. The 100 Wh / 160 Wh figures on its pages apply to portable electronic devices and medical portable electronic devices (M-PED), not to mobility aids — see global rules for the ICAO/IATA default.
Not published. SriLankan requires a collapsible lithium-ion mobility-aid battery to be removed and carried in the cabin but attaches no watt-hour figure to it. ICAO/IATA default applies — see global rules.
Not published for mobility aids. The 'maximum of two spare batteries' at 100–160 Wh in SriLankan's table is a consumer-electronics and medical-device rule, not a wheelchair rule, so it is not recorded here.
Not published for mobility aids — SriLankan states no spare-battery allowance for a wheelchair. Its spare-battery entries cover portable electronic devices only.
Only for collapsible lithium-ion aids: 'Mobility Aids: Battery-powered mobility aids with lithium ion batteries (collapsible), battery must be removed and carried in the cabin.' Wheelchairs with non-spillable, spillable or non-collapsible lithium batteries are listed as permitted in or as checked baggage with the battery in place, subject to operator approval.
Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Dangerous Goods table: 'Mobility Aids: Battery-powered wheelchairs or other similar mobility devices with non-spillable wet batteries or with batteries which comply with Special Provision A123 or A199 (see 2.3.2.2)' — pilot-in-command informed YES, checked baggage YES, carry-on NO, operator approval required YES.
Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Unusually, SriLankan does not refuse spillable batteries. Its Dangerous Goods table row reads: 'Mobility Aids: Battery-powered wheelchairs or other similar mobility devices with spillable batteries or with lithium batteries (see 2.3.2.3 and 2.3.2.4 for details)' — pilot-in-command informed YES, permitted as checked baggage YES, permitted as carry-on NO, operator approval required YES. The referenced IATA sub-sections are not reproduced on the page, so the packing conditions are not published.
Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published for wheelchairs. SriLankan's table refers the reader to IATA sub-sections 2.3.2.2, 2.3.2.3 and 2.3.2.4 for the packing and short-circuit-protection conditions but does not reproduce them, and the Special Assistance page says only 'you will need to take certain safeguards before you travel. Please ask for details at the time you make your booking.'
No battery spec sheet, UN 38.3 test summary or MSDS is demanded for a wheelchair battery. A MEDIF is required only where the passenger needs medical clearance or wants wheelchair assistance beyond the ramp and steps, and separately for all electrical/electronic medical devices used on board.
Not published — SriLankan gives no size limit or hold-door aperture for a powered wheelchair.
Not published — no weight limit for a powered wheelchair.
Not published — no statement about returning a powered chair at the aircraft door.
SriLankan totally prohibits 'Small Vehicles' powered with lithium batteries (air wheels, solo wheels, hoverboards, mini segways, balance wheels) in checked or cabin baggage; the Dangerous Goods Unit (+94 19733 2455, cargodg@srilankan.com) handles queries about lithium-powered items. Note that this prohibition is written about small vehicles, not about mobility aids, which have their own permitted rows in the same table.
Manual wheelchairs
Mobility aids are carried free of charge over and above the checked and hand luggage allowance, in any cabin class. 'Large or heavy items (e.g. wheel chairs) may need to be carried as checked baggage. Please advise your requirements at the time of booking in order to ensure special handling arrangements at airport/s.'
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Only spelled out for US-touching itineraries. The Disability Assistance Request form lists 'Onboard stowage of an assistive device' among the services passengers 'traveling on a continuous journey in the same aircraft or with a single flight number that begins or ends at a U.S. airport are entitled to'. For other routes SriLankan says only that 'Large or heavy items (e.g. wheel chairs) may need to be carried as checked baggage', and publishes no cabin stowage rule or closet dimensions.
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Disability Assistance Request — online form (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published — SriLankan gives no in-cabin stowage dimensions for a folding wheelchair.
Not published — SriLankan gives no maximum wheelchair size and no hold-door aperture for its A320neo/A321neo and A330 fleet.
Not published — no weight limit for a wheelchair. SriLankan says only that 'Large or heavy items (e.g. wheel chairs) may need to be carried as checked baggage'. The 32 kg figures elsewhere on the baggage page are ordinary excess/overweight-bag rules, not mobility-aid limits.
Not published — SriLankan does not say whether a checked wheelchair is returned at the aircraft door or at the baggage belt. The statement 'Wheelchairs are only allowed up to the ramp and steps' concerns SriLankan's own airport wheelchair service, not the return of the passenger's own chair.
SriLankan applies an age gate to its airport wheelchair service: 'the age limit for providing wheelchair services to elderly passengers is 75 - 85 years. All passengers below and above the stipulated age limit are required to produce authorized medical forms in order to obtain the service. This restriction applies to all types of wheelchair services.' Assistance beyond the ramp and steps — i.e. to the cabin — also requires the Medical Information Form.
Booking & cost
The online Disability Assistance Request states 'this option is NOT available for flights departing within the next 72 hours'. Where medical clearance is required, a MEDIF completed by your own doctor must reach the nearest SriLankan office or nurses@srilankan.com 'at least 48 hours before the flight'. Wheelchair assistance should be requested when booking: 'Passengers requesting wheelchair assistance at the airport without prior notice, will be offered such assistance at a charge of LKR 5000 (originating out of Colombo only)'.
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Medical Information Form (MEDIF) and Frequent Travellers Medical Card (FREMEC) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Disability Assistance Request — online form (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
'If you need a wheelchair to help you through the airport, please request at the time of making your booking.' 'Please provide a copy of your passport to our Global Call Centre or ticket offices when requesting this service.' Assistance up to the cabin (rather than only to the ramp or steps) requires the Medical Information Form. Frequent travellers can obtain a FREMEC card to avoid repeating the medical form.
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Medical Information Form (MEDIF) and Frequent Travellers Medical Card (FREMEC) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Baggage page: 'Passengers who need assistance from their mobility aids will be allowed to carry them free of charge over and above the checked and hand luggage allowance irrespective of their cabin class. (Conditions apply).' Special Assistance page: 'Two pieces of mobility equipment can be carried free of charge and will not count against the standard baggage allowance.' Separately, SriLankan charges LKR 5,000 for its own airport wheelchair service if it is requested with no prior notice, out of Colombo only.
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
'Two pieces of mobility equipment can be carried free of charge and will not count against the standard baggage allowance.' On a continuous journey that begins or ends at a U.S. airport the limit does not apply: such passengers 'may carry on the aircraft or check as baggage any necessary assistive devices or mobility equipment free of charge'.
Conditions of Carriage Article 15.3.2: 'our liability in the case of damage to checked Baggage shall be limited as provided by the Convention'. The same document sets out the Montreal Convention limits: 'In the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay with respect to baggage – Limit = 1288 SDR per passenger (Article 22, paragraph 2)'. SriLankan publishes no US ACAA full-value rule for mobility aids and no separate wheelchair damage undertaking.
Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage — Article 15 Liability for Damage and Montreal Convention limits (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
'Aisle wheelchairs are available on our wide body aircraft.' SriLankan's wide-bodies are its A330s; no aisle chair is stated for the A320neo/A321neo narrow-body fleet that operates most regional routes.
'Toilets on board are equipped with assist facilities.' SriLankan does not say which aircraft, nor that any lavatory is wheelchair-accessible, and it will not assist a passenger inside the lavatory — passengers who cannot manage their own physical needs in flight are asked to travel with a companion.
'If you are not self-reliant (capable of taking care of all your physical needs independently in-flight) e.g. cannot self-lift into a wheelchair during the flight, we request you to travel with a companion who can assist you. While we would be happy to help where possible, we cannot assume obligation for providing on-board assistance, which might contravene health, safety or hygiene regulations.'
'Safety regulations stipulate that passengers with reduced mobility should not be seated at emergency exits or in cross aisles that form part of emergency exit routes with pre-assigned seats allocated for easy identification by crew for assistance in case of an emergency.' 'Seating accommodations' is one of the services listed on the Disability Assistance Request form. No movable-armrest detail and no statement that the seat is free of charge.
Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Disability Assistance Request — online form (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Worth knowing
SriLankan carries two pieces of mobility equipment free, over and above the baggage allowance, and its Dangerous Goods table (reproduced on its own baggage page) is the only place the battery rules appear. Three things a powered-chair user should note. (1) SriLankan publishes NO watt-hour limit for a wheelchair battery of any kind — installed, removed or spare. The 100 Wh / 160 Wh numbers on the same pages belong to portable and medical electronic devices; do not read them as wheelchair limits. (2) Every battery-powered wheelchair, including spillable wet-cell chairs, needs the operator's approval and the pilot-in-command must be informed; SriLankan is unusual in not refusing spillable batteries outright. Only a COLLAPSIBLE lithium-ion battery must be removed into the cabin. (3) The published packing conditions are cross-references to IATA sub-sections 2.3.2.2–2.3.2.4 that are not reproduced, so terminal-insulation and packaging requirements have to be obtained from the airline. Two service restrictions a traveller should re-check: airport wheelchair assistance costs LKR 5,000 out of Colombo if it is not pre-notified; and 'the age limit for providing wheelchair services to elderly passengers is 75 - 85 years. All passengers below and above the stipulated age limit are required to produce authorized medical forms in order to obtain the service. This restriction applies to all types of wheelchair services.' Assistance beyond the ramp and steps also requires a MEDIF. SriLankan will not take on in-flight personal assistance and asks passengers who cannot self-lift into a wheelchair to travel with a companion. SriLankan does not operate its own flights to the USA; its extensive 14 CFR Part 382 language covers codeshare journeys on Etihad, Qatar Airways and American Airlines, and it names no CRO of its own. The Special Assistance page carries 'Last updated date – 25th September 2024'.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Special Assistance — disability assistance contacts, wheelchairs at the airport, travelling with your own mobility equipment (page last updated 25 September 2024) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Baggage / Luggage — Mobility Aids, and the Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items table (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Medical Information Form (MEDIF) and Frequent Travellers Medical Card (FREMEC) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Disability Assistance Request — online form (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 24 Hour Contact Center (Colombo) — telephone, WhatsApp, e-mail (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage — Article 15 Liability for Damage and Montreal Convention limits (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 10 contacts · 59% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.