All airlines Asia Pacific
Vietnam Airlines
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.
- PhoneVietnam — Contact Center (wheelchair service booking)24/7
- PhoneOutside Vietnam — Contact Center24/7
- PhoneUS DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division — disability hotline (printed by Vietnam Airlines)Voice line
- EmailTelesales / ticket purchase
- Online form
- Online form
- Relay / text1-800-455-9880 (TTY). Vietnam Airlines also prints the postal address: Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, W96-42, Washington, DC 20590.US DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division — TTY (text telephone), printed by Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines publishes no dedicated accessibility phone line or e-mail address — requests go through the 24/7 Contact Center, a branch office or the online Wheelchair Service Booking Form. As a US-serving carrier it publishes the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division voice/TTY numbers and address on its Reduced Mobility Passengers page.
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.
VN's Wheelchairs & Travel aids page sets out conditions for carrying wheelchairs and mobility aids with wet-cell (spillable), non-spillable, nickel-metal-hydride, dry and lithium-ion batteries as checked or carry-on baggage; it adds that they "are required to meet some special terms of temperature, pressure tolerance, etc." and that passengers "should contact Vietnam Airlines to understand the specific rules". Battery type must be declared at booking.
Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Lithium-ion wheelchair batteries are named as acceptable: in checked baggage where the battery is fitted, and in carry-on where it is "removable Lithium-ion" or where the battery "does not have the proper design for battery protection".
Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No watt-hour limit is published for a wheelchair battery. VN's lithium-battery table (≤100 Wh, >100–160 Wh, >160 Wh forbidden) is written for consumer and personal medical devices and power banks, not for mobility aids, so it must not be read as the wheelchair limit.
Not published. VN says a removable lithium-ion wheelchair battery travels in the cabin but gives no Wh ceiling; it tells passengers to contact VN for the specific rules.
Not published for wheelchair spare batteries.
Not published for wheelchair batteries. (VN's general table allows up to 2 back-up batteries for >100–160 Wh personal medical devices, but that is not a mobility-aid rule.)
Carry-on (cabin) carriage of the battery applies where "batteries used for wheelchairs and mobility aids are removable Lithium-ion batteries; or … do not have the proper design for battery protection". A fitted, properly protected battery may stay with the chair in the hold.
Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Checked-baggage carriage is allowed where "batteries used for wheelchairs and mobility aids are wet-cell, non-spill, nickel metal hydride batteries, dry batteries".
Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Checked-baggage carriage is allowed where "batteries used for wheelchairs and mobility aids are wet-cell or Lithium-ion batteries". VN publishes no upright-stowage or battery-box packing detail for spillable batteries.
Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
VN publishes no terminal-insulation or circuit-inhibition wording specific to wheelchair batteries.
No battery spec sheet, MSDS or form is demanded on VN's published pages; the battery type must be declared when buying the ticket.
No maximum size published; dimensions are declared at booking.
No maximum weight published.
Not published.
VN publishes NO watt-hour figure for wheelchair batteries anywhere on its English or Vietnamese pages — it directs passengers to contact the airline for the specific rules. Do not assume the 100/160 Wh table on its Lithium batteries page applies to a power chair.
Manual wheelchairs
"Passengers with limited mobility may … carry their personal wheelchairs in the checked or carry-on baggage." Carriage is free and outside the baggage allowance.
Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special service charges (WCHC / WCHS / WCHR) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Passengers with reduced mobility may bring one mobility equipment such as crutches, canes, or foldable wheelchairs that meet carry-on baggage standards and safety requirements for devices with lithium batteries."
Reduced Mobility Passengers (incl. services on flights from/to the US) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
VN gives no in-cabin figures — a foldable wheelchair taken into the cabin must simply "meet carry-on baggage standards".
No maximum size published. VN asks for "wheelchair dimensions (length, width, and height), weight, folding capability, and the presence of a gas shock absorber" at booking.
No maximum wheelchair weight published; VN asks for the chair's weight when the ticket is purchased.
VN does not publish whether a personal wheelchair is returned at the aircraft door or at baggage reclaim.
At Vietnamese airports without specialised equipment — Cat Bi (Hai Phong), Tho Xuan (Thanh Hoa), Vinh, Phu Bai (Hue), Phu Cat (Quy Nhon), Tuy Hoa, Pleiku, Buon Me Thuot and Can Tho — "Vietnam Airlines staff will work with passengers' companions (if any) to help them board and get off the plane". VN advises arriving one hour earlier than normal check-in.
Booking & cost
Strictest published deadline: on flights from/to the US, passengers "should book at least 48 hours before the scheduled departure time" for "wheelchairs or special equipment containing dangerous materials". Elsewhere: 24 h to book VN's wheelchair service by phone/office, 36 h using the online Wheelchair Service Booking Form, 24 h to register carriage of your own wheelchair as special baggage, 72 h for medical oxygen.
Reduced Mobility Passengers (incl. services on flights from/to the US) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special baggage — Strollers and wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
When bringing your own chair VN asks for "wheelchair dimensions (length, width, and height), weight, folding capability, and the presence of a gas shock absorber" — and for electric chairs also the battery type.
Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Wheelchair Assistance — online service registration (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Wheelchairs are not included in the free luggage allowance and are not charged." The special-service-charges table lists WCHC (cabin), WCHS (step) and WCHR (ramp) as "Free of charge. The wheelchair of the passenger shall be accepted for carriage free of charge." VN also transports baby strollers and wheelchairs/trolleys free of charge.
Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special service charges (WCHC / WCHS / WCHR) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special baggage — Strollers and wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
VN does not publish a free device count for checked mobility aids. For the cabin it says a reduced-mobility passenger "may bring one mobility equipment such as crutches, canes, or foldable wheelchairs that meet carry-on baggage standards".
"Our responsibility for the damaged baggage and cargo is specified in Article 16 of the conditions of carriage of Vietnam Airlines." Damage must be reported at the Lost and Found counter at the arrival station as soon as possible. Nothing specific to wheelchairs or mobility aids is published.
Customer Service Plan (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
VN's free wheelchair service covers "wheelchairs in the passenger cabin, on and off the plane, and on the apron" (WCHC/WCHS/WCHR), but it does not say whether an on-board aisle chair is available during the flight.
Not published. VN states only that cabin crew cannot assist with personal care needs "including assistance inside the lavatory".
"If requested, Vietnam Airlines cabin crew will assist passengers in moving into the aircraft cabin", and at equipped airports VN uses "specialized equipment such as wheelchairs, forklifts, and other special equipment". BUT at nine Vietnamese airports without such equipment — Cat Bi, Tho Xuan, Vinh, Phu Bai, Phu Cat, Tuy Hoa, Pleiku, Buon Me Thuot and Can Tho — "Vietnam Airlines staff will work with passengers' companions (if any) to help them board and get off the plane".
Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No movable-armrest or bulkhead policy is published; VN says only that it "will arrange suitable seats for passengers and ensure their safety on the flights".
Worth knowing
Checked both the English (/go/en/) and Vietnamese (/vn/vi/) versions of the Wheelchairs & Travel aids page — the Vietnamese text is a direct equivalent and adds no watt-hour figure. THE BIG GAP: Vietnam Airlines publishes no Wh limit, spare-battery count or terminal-protection requirement for wheelchair batteries anywhere; it only routes batteries between hold and cabin by type and says to contact the airline. Its general lithium table (≤100 Wh / 100-160 Wh with 2 back-ups / >160 Wh forbidden) is explicitly written for consumer and personal medical devices and power banks and was NOT imported. Route restriction recorded in transfer_assistance: nine Vietnamese airports have no specialised boarding equipment and VN relies on the passenger's own companion there. VN carries wheelchairs free and outside the baggage allowance; a foldable chair meeting carry-on standards may come into the cabin. Accompanying cabin crew can be booked but the passenger pays an extra airfare for them.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Reduced Mobility Passengers (incl. services on flights from/to the US) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Passengers with wheelchairs — wheelchair service (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Restricted baggage — Wheelchairs & Travel aids (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Restricted baggage — Lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Special service charges (WCHC / WCHS / WCHR) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Special baggage — Strollers and wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s7 Customer Service Plan (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s8 Wheelchair Assistance — online service registration (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s9 Xe lăn & Thiết bị hỗ trợ di chuyển (Vietnamese-language restricted-baggage page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence medium · 9 official sources · 7 contacts · 49% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.