Last updated: 31 October 2026.
Air India arranges extra help for three groups of travellers: passengers with a disability or reduced mobility (including wheelchair users), pregnant travellers, and children flying without a parent. Below you will find what to arrange, the paperwork, and the charges. Money amounts use the currency Air India quotes: rupees, US dollars, Canadian dollars or pounds.
48 hourshow far ahead to tell Air India about wheelchair or other help
Freewheelchair help in every cabin (airports may add their own fees)
32 weekspregnancy: travel to week 32 if all is well, to week 35 with a doctor's letter
5 to 11age range for Air India's unaccompanied-minor service
How to ask for assistance
- Mention your needs when you book, when the ticket is issued, or when you reconfirm. Give Air India two days' warning (48 hours) about the help you want while boarding, leaving the aircraft and in the air.
- Bring your disability card, your Unique Disability ID (UDID) or other medical papers.
- Security screening covers wheelchairs, stretchers and anything you carry by hand. If queuing is hard for you, let staff know.
- Airlines use short codes for the kind of help needed: WCHR (wheelchair for the ramp, you manage steps and the walk to your seat), WCHS (wheelchair for steps, you can still walk to the seat), WCHC (wheelchair to the seat, you cannot move on your own), BLND (blind, state whether a guide dog travels too) and DEAF.
- If all you need is help at the airport and at the aircraft door, no medical approval or special form is required. A valid FREMEC card (Frequent Travellers' Medical Card), issued by any airline's medical department, stands in for approval.
Wheelchairs
- There is no charge for a wheelchair in any cabin. Request it early when booking or ticketing so one is waiting for you. A few airports bill for their own chairs, so check with the airport. Say whether you need help up to the aircraft steps, the door or your seat.
- Elderly or frail travellers, and those with a health condition, pay nothing. A traveller who is not medically fit for a wheelchair trip must send in the MEDIF form (see below). Air India's medical officer needs at least three days (72 hours) to decide, and some offices, Canada for example, take five working days.
- Passengers with disabilities board first and leave last. They sit close to the toilet and on the aisle. The pilot and cabin crew are briefed on their medical background. Air India sends word ahead to each stop on the route, and on landing a member of staff walks you to the baggage hall or your onward carrier.
- Your own chair can go with you to the aircraft door, where it is tagged and stowed in the hold. Slim aisle chairs with no arms are kept on board. You get your chair back at the aircraft or, if that cannot be arranged, an airline chair brings you to the arrivals hall.
- One mobility aid goes free on top of the normal checked-bag limit. Foldable chairs ride in the cabin when there is room, otherwise in the hold. An aid heavier than 30 kg (66 lb) needs special approval at the time of booking.
Your own electric wheelchair or mobility aid
- Send in the Battery Powered Wheelchair Information Form two days (48 hours) ahead and carry a copy. Air India advises being at the airport three hours before the flight.
- Air India follows Indian aviation rules and the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. One battery on a chair may be up to 300 Wh; with two batteries, each may be up to 160 Wh. Spares: a single one of up to 300 Wh, or two of up to 160 Wh each.
- Staff will try to take an electric chair as far as the aircraft, depending on airport security rules and equipment such as ramps and lifts.
Non-spillable wet, nickel-metal hydride or dry cells
- Cabin
- No
- Checked
- Yes
- Rules
- The battery must be shielded by the chair's design and fixed firmly, with its circuits cut off, or taken out as the maker describes. Loose or spare units go in checked luggage in sturdy rigid packaging with the terminals covered. Allowed spares: one wet non-spillable battery (Special Provision A67), two nickel-metal hydride batteries (A199), or dry batteries (A123).
Lithium-ion, fitted in the chair and protected by its design
- Cabin
- No
- Checked
- Yes
- Rules
- Keep it attached. While installed there is no Wh ceiling. Cover the terminals. Spares travel in the cabin, within the 300 Wh or 2 x 160 Wh limits above.
Lithium-ion, removable, with poor protection from the chair's design
- Cabin
- Yes
- Checked
- Yes
- Rules
- Take the battery out of the chair and carry it into the cabin, with a rating of at most 300 Wh. Spares follow the same 300 Wh or 2 x 160 Wh limits. Shield the terminals from shorts and knocks.
Spillable battery
- Cabin
- No
- Checked
- No
- Rules
- Chairs with this type of battery are turned away.
When a medical form is needed
- Help at the airport and at the aircraft door needs no medical approval. If you are recovering from an illness or operation, or have a condition that flying could worsen, Air India's medical team must clear you first.
- The Medical Information Form (MEDIF) is an IATA form. You or a representative signs it, and your doctor fills in the clinical part. Send it with a doctor's report dated within ten days of the flight; Air India's page names a lead time of five days, and the decision takes at least 72 hours.
- A fresh MEDIF is needed on every journey and for every sector. The booking can be confirmed from the paperwork, but you are cleared to travel only after a last check at the airport. For refunds linked to a medical reason, use the customer support portal. Air India's medical judgement is final.
- If part of your trip is on another airline, agree the help you need with that carrier.
Service dogs and guide dogs
- A trained service dog flies in the cabin at no charge, provided it meets the entry rules of each country on the route. Air India counts as a service animal only a dog trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability, whether physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental. Emotional-support animals, comfort animals and dogs still in training fly as pets, with pet rules and fees.
- The dog must wear a harness or be on a lead or tether, stay under control, be clean and calm, and fit by your feet, beneath the seat or on your lap (a lap dog must be smaller than a two-year-old child). It may not take an exit row, jut into the aisle or use a seat. The final go-ahead comes at the airport once staff see it fits at your feet.
- A guide dog travels in addition to your free baggage allowance, with no fee. It needs a harness and muzzle, may ride in the cabin or hold depending on size and national rules, and cannot use a seat. Show the entry permits for the destination and transit countries when you reserve. If any country on the route bans the dog, it cannot be carried.
- United States flights: only dogs qualify, and up to two psychiatric service dogs per traveller on non-stop flights. Hand in the US Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form two days ahead (at the airport if you bought the ticket late). For flights longer than 8 hours add the Service Animal Relief Attestation Form and bring absorbent pads. The US CDC currently pauses dog imports from high-risk countries, which includes dogs coming from India, and Air India can refuse carriage on that basis. Air India may also decline any animal that breaches health or safety law in the US, a US state or territory, or another government.
Intellectual or developmental disability, hearing loss and sight loss
- Travellers with an intellectual or developmental disability fly with a trained attendant who brings the treating doctor's certificate and a prescription for an injectable sedative that may be needed before or during the trip. The attendant is told that no crew member will be set aside to supervise the passenger. Booking seats ahead on the website or app is suggested.
- Air India can decline to carry a traveller whose condition endangers others, the aircraft or the crew; who will not accept Air India's travel conditions; who has hearing or sight loss, restricted movement or a stretcher but no escort; or who has an infection that could trouble other passengers.
Pregnancy
- You may travel until the end of week 32 if the pregnancy is uncomplicated. If the flight date is later than the booking date, take an obstetrician's certificate issued within three days (72 hours) of the flight stating you can travel with no complications.
- Weeks 32 to 35 are allowed for an expected normal delivery, with the obstetrician's certificate of fitness. Past week 35 you cannot fly.
- After week 32 you cannot fly with twins or more, or if the pregnancy may be complicated, for instance after a miscarriage or a difficult birth.
- For an emergency, complete a MEDIF, obtain consent from the Executive Director of Medical Services, and call customer service.
- Help on offer: a wheelchair, medical rooms and pharmacies at most airports, a choice of meals, and seat-belt extenders on the aircraft.
Children travelling alone
Unaccompanied minors (5 to 11 years)
- A child who is 5 and not yet 12 and flies without an adult is an unaccompanied minor. The ticket costs the full adult fare, plus a handling fee for every sector.
- A parent or guardian signs and submits the Unaccompanied Minor form in four copies for non-stop flights and six for connecting ones, along with ID copies for the child (passport pages for overseas trips) and for themselves, and the name of the adult who will drop the child off and the one who will collect. Where a parent has died, add the death certificate and proof of guardianship. Bring the originals.
- Hand everything in at an Air India city booking or airport ticket office no later than six hours before departure. Reach the airport at least three hours ahead and stay until the aircraft has left. Staff guide the child through immigration and customs, to the gate, onto the plane first, and hand them over at the end to the named adult, who must show original government ID.
- The service covers Air India's own flights only, not codeshares and not trips where any leg is flown by another airline. A child with a health condition needs medical approval, and a child who needs special help must travel with a parent or guardian. The child cannot sit in an exit row or travel with a pet.
- India to India
- INR 6,000
- To or from the United States
- USD 150
- To or from Canada
- CAD 210
- To or from Australia
- USD 150
- To or from Mauritius, Far East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea), the Middle East (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE), SAARC countries (Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka) or Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
- USD 130
- To or from Europe (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland), Israel or the United Kingdom
- USD 150
Young passengers (12 to 17 years)
- Teenagers from 12 to 17 may fly alone on a full adult fare, with optional assistance. The help is limited to Air India's own flights (no codeshares, no mixed-airline connections) and is not available for children who need special assistance.
- Paperwork: a consent letter from a parent or guardian giving the child's details (whether it must be notarised depends on the country, so ask Air India or the embassy), original government photo ID at check-in, and the UK forms when the trip starts or ends there. Extra papers may be requested.
- India to India
- INR 5,000
- To or from Canada
- CAD 210
- To or from Mauritius, Far East Asia, the Middle East, SAARC countries or Southeast Asia (as listed above)
- USD 100
- To or from Australia, Europe, Israel or the United Kingdom
- USD 120
- To or from the United States
- USD 150
Accompanied minors (5 to 11 years)
- A child from 5 up to 12 flying with an adult (parent, legal guardian, or an authorised guardian aged 18 or more) can be booked at the child fare when added to the adult's reservation. The two are seated side by side.
- Hand in a consent letter signed by the parents that names the authorised adult, ID for the child (any government ID on domestic trips, passport pages on international ones) and ID for the adult, at an Air India office six hours or more before the flight.
Flights to and from the United States
US disability regulations apply to any journey that starts or ends at a US airport. The Department of Transportation hotline for disabled air travellers is 1-800-778-4838 (voice) or 1-800-455-9880 (TTY). The Aviation Consumer Protection Division can be reached on 202-366-2220 (voice) or 202-366-0511 (TTY), by post at 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building, Room W96-432, Washington, DC 20590, or online at dot.gov/airconsumer.
Questions travellers ask us
Does a wheelchair cost extra on Air India?
No, it is free in every cabin. A few airports may charge for their own chairs.
How soon should I tell Air India I need help?
When you book, and no later than 48 hours before the flight. Medical cases should send papers ahead, and the MEDIF decision takes at least 72 hours.
Can a ten-year-old fly alone?
Yes, under the unaccompanied-minor service on Air India's own flights, with the adult fare, a handling fee and forms handed in six hours before departure.
How far into pregnancy can I fly?
Until week 32 if all is well, up to week 35 with an obstetrician's certificate for a normal delivery, and not afterwards.
Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of Air India. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.
30 questions and answers
If there is no complication and yours is a single pregnancy, then it is not needed. Please note that the pregnancy progress shall be calculated on the basis of travel date.
If you are 32 weeks pregnant at the time of travel, you need a fit to fly certificate.
From which link this form can be downloaded for for Air India passengers
The airline does not provide it, However, reference can be made with the proforma of Spicejet airline for the purpose of taking content relevant for you. It is available at: http://baggage-allowance.info/blog/spicejet-fit-to-fly-certificate-proforma/. Even doctors also have this.
Airline does not provide the baggage handling facility, However, you can check for the porter services from airport authorities.
Please check with the airline customer service regarding the same.
I want to book a ticket from DMM to CCJ for my wife ,she is 30 weeks pregnant.where will get medical fitness certificate form . kindly send me through email address
This certificate can be had from your treating obstretrician and is quite common. You do not need it specifically from the airline.
We have the Spicejet proforma for your reference at http://baggage-allowance.info/blog/spicejet-fit-to-fly-certificate-proforma/
Yes, you need a fit to fly certificate from obstetrician which is not more than 3 days old from date of travel.
I have booked to fly from Chennai to Bangalore by flight number AI563 (PNR) J4XTR.
I have small airways disease and I am required to carry my own an Innogen G3 oxygen concentrator (FAA) approved) with sufficient battery power.
I live in Sydney and will get the Medical Clearance form completed by my doctor here. I am a frequent traveller and my travel from Sydney to Bengaluru has been approved by Malaysian Airlines.
Please give me an email address where I can send the approval form for travel.
I may be contacted on +61 435990673
Regards
Uma
Regards
Australia Toll Free Number of Air India office:
1800 247 463
Email ID: traveldocs@airindia.in
You will have to contact the airline local office for the same and explain the requirements. They will guide you on what all docs are needed for travelling in india with this condition. No worries, special assistance will be provided. It is the duty of airline to provide it.
You can make the request at the time of ticket booking and even a few days before the travel date.
It is not needed, if there is no pregnancy related complication and is a single pregnancy. However, you shall still have consultation with doc about travel and carry your pregnancy report which might be asked for as a proof of progress of pregnancy.
My wife is travelling from Shanghai to Bangalore.She is 14 weeks pregnant and travelling with 2 kids unaccompanied. Any assistance from airline can she get on extra charges.Like receiving from airport and assisting in immigration,baggage,check-in etc. Thank you
Kids are already accompanied by an adult. Airline staff can guide her for all procedures but they will not be holding the baggage or carrying the kids. However, you can still request assistance from Air India for confirmation.
It is always a good idea to carry a Fit to Fly certificate, if it can be obtained by the passenger before travel.
If travelling economy, 2 bags of 23 kg each are allowed in check-in per adult or child passenger. Infant allowed 1 check in bag of 10 kg. In cabin, 8 kg is the allowance per adult or child passenger. Infants not allowed cabin allowance.
Thanks
The proforma of this certificate is generally available with the doctors.
We have one from Spicejet. This can be found at http://baggage-allowance.info/blog/spicejet-fit-to-fly-certificate-proforma/.
You can make use of the same content for Air India as well.
PLease get in touch with the airline in this respect.
Thanks
You just have to inform the airline about it. They will tell the docs needed, if any. Please contact their Special Assistance team for this.
yes, it can be taken within permitted free baggage allowance limits for check in baggage.
my wife is 26 week pregnet and u want to traval kuwait to mangalore tommorrow. is fit to fly certificate required for travel she is fit and fine please guide me.
No need for fit to fly certificate because she is less than 32 weeks of pregnancy.
WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE SAME ?
IF A DOCTOR IS ACCOMPANYING THEN TILL WHICH WEEK IT IS ALLOWED ?
REGARDS.
Women can travel till 32 weeks of pregnancy. This period can be extended to 35 weeks if normal delivery is expected. A certificate from doctor is required.
A physician can travel as an escort with the pregnant lady on authority of the Chief Medical Officer of Air India only in case when the travel is done close to period of delivery.
PLease contact the airline in this respect..
No she does not need it unless hers is a case of multiple pregnancies or complications.
My mother is 65 years old , has diabetes( needs insulin dose) and suffers frequent low blood pressure issues. She wishes to travel and meet us in USA. We are looking at direct flight from delhi to sfo.
Should she travel or not? hypothetically if she needs help in flight, is the staff empathetic about seniors?
Please guide,
If she needs help of an assistance in flight, it is suggested that she is accompanied by an assistant. Airline staff will not administer any medicine or help in eating food. Airline cabin crew will assist in taking the patient till washroom but will not assist in providing personal assistance any further.
For detailed queries, we suggest you speak to airline directly.
My India contact number is 07096232082. I have just done my IVF treatment and cannot walk too much or carry luggage in hand .
Let me know what further docs you need from me.
Kind Regards,
Anita Kathe
Please contact the airline directly for this special assistance. They will also inform you what other docs would be needed. They might require a fit-to-fly certification.
It is available with the treating doctors.
I am 26 weeks pregnant and planning to travel from london to Hyderabad by air India in business class. I would like to know if u would provide me with a wheel chair and special assistance during my transit in Delhi airport as I am not comfortable for walking long distances in the airport.
Yes, this assistance can be provided. You need to get in touch with the airline local office for this and well in advance of your travel date. Please refer to this link for more details: http://airindia.in/special-needs-faqs.htm#q1
yes, she can travel.
My wife is 10 weeks pregnant and she is traveling from Muscat to Chennai.
Will she get any assistance from AirIndia for loading and unloading luggage at the Muscat as well as Chennai airport
Thanks
Venkatesh Padmanabhan
+968 94589623
Air India will only provide assistance is guiding the passenger through airport.
Moreover in AI flights its mentioned that hand baggage is not permitted from srinagar but since my kid and myself suffer from travel sickness and I need to carry homeopathic medicines and water and it will be a long time from srinagar to pune so what can be done.
If the baggage will be transferred directly will I atleast get to access my hand baggage before boarding the delhi pune flight.
At first, medicines might be permitted to be carried, though not in a cabin bag. You might be allowed to carry these in hand. You shall request for through check in with Air India.
You can travel upto 35 weeks of pregnancy, but after completing 32 and up to 35 weeks, there is a requirement of Fit to Fly certificate. Thus, if you would be 32 week pregnant on date of travel and that week would not have ended, then you can travel even without a Fit to Fly certificate.
Please note that this provision is for single and normal pregnancy cases only.