If you fly, you know the challenges to getting airborne. Informing reservation agents of your special needs is the first step to ensuring a safe and comfortable flight. Be specific about your needs, such as requiring assistance to your seat, assistance when transferring between airlines, or a seat assignment in the bulkhead. Be sure to make these requests again at the time of departure so they are not overlooked.

Both the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and the Americans with Disabilities Act specify that the needs of persons with disabilities must be met both on the ground and in the air. This covers accessible parking neat the terminal; signs indicating accessible parking and access to the terminal; accessible medical aid facilities and travelers aid stations; accessible restrooms; accessible drinking fountains; accessible ticketing systems at primary fare-collection areas; amplified telephones; accessible baggage check-in and retrieval areas; accessible jet-ways and mobile lounges; flat boarding ramps, lifts, and so forth; information systems with both visual and oral components; and signs indicating the location of specific facilities.

You may want to get advice from people with similar disabilities who fly frequently. Some advise not consuming liquids before flights so that you don’t have a “call of nature” on the flight. Others advise waiting on the plane after landing until your chair or scooter comes up from the hold. If you leave the plane in a wheelchair provided by the airline, you could be stranded in the airport without your own means of getting about. If you use crutches, expect different rules for their storage, even within the same airline. Some stewards say crutches go in the overhead bins, while others allow you to stow them on the floor beside you. If you are flying coach class, try to get seating in the bulkhead row, the first row in the coach section. This offers more space and thus greater ease in getting in and out of your seat.

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