All airlines Latin America & Caribbean
Avianca
Powered wheelchairs accepted · carried free · 24 h notice.
- Advance notice
- 24hours 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.
- PhoneColombia — Avianca group contact centre, Bogotá and mobiles (shared across the Avianca group records)
- PhoneColombia — Contact centre, rest of the country (toll free)
- PhoneUnited States — Avianca group contact centre (shared across the Avianca group records)
- PhoneCanada — Avianca group contact centre (shared across the Avianca group records)
- Relay / text"TDD Services (Telephone for the Hearing Impaired) for people with hearing and speech limitations: +1 844 413 7044"TDD — United States
- Relay / textAvianca's accessibility page links its WhatsApp assistant on +57 311 400 6797WhatsApp — "Vianca" chat
Avianca publishes no dedicated disability desk number or special-assistance email; requests go through the general contact centre, the booking flow ("Accessibility and assistance") or Manage your booking. The only disability-specific channel published is the US TDD line +1 844 413 7044. Two PDFs are attached to the help-centre articles — "Condiciones y restricciones de servicios especiales a viajeros en condición de discapacidad" and a PDF on PRM assistance at Spanish airports — but both are scanned/binary and could not be read as text.
Read it from the source
- Can I travel with my wheelchair? (chair and battery rules) (opens in a new tab)
- Can I request wheelchair service? (notice periods, Europe/Spain/London rules) (opens in a new tab)
- What should I do if I need special assistance for my trip? (incl. US CRO and DOT information) (opens in a new tab)
- avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (journey-by-journey guide, Spanish) (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.
Powered chairs are accepted; Avianca publishes handling rules per battery type and asks for the battery type and the manufacturer's disassembly/assembly instructions at the counter. Hand the chair over switched off, with terminals protected and the battery securely attached to the frame.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted, and normally left installed and secured to the chair with terminals protected against short circuit. Spare lithium-ion batteries travel only in the cabin.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No watt-hour cap published for a lithium battery that stays installed in the chair. Avianca's general baggage rules cap loose lithium-ion batteries at 100 Wh (up to 20) and 100–160 Wh (2, with approval), but that is for loose batteries, not for a chair's installed battery.
Not published. Avianca instructs that lithium batteries should NOT be removed unless necessary for handling, and publishes a watt-hour figure only for spares.
Avianca's own help centre (ayuda.avianca.com): "Lithium batteries: You may carry only in the cabin one (1) spare lithium-ion battery not exceeding 300 Wh, or two (2) spare batteries not exceeding 160 Wh each."
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Lithium-ion: one spare ≤300 Wh or two spares ≤160 Wh each, cabin only. Dry / nickel-metal hydride: up to two (2) spares, hold only, in solid rigid packaging (cardboard, plastic, wood, steel or aluminium) marked with your details, flight number and destination. Non-spillable wet: maximum one (1) spare, hold only, same packaging rule.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No for dry, nickel-metal hydride and lithium batteries — "you should not remove the battery... unless necessary for handling", and it must stay properly secured to the chair. Yes for spillable (wet) batteries, which Avianca will not carry installed.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted installed. "You should not remove the battery if it is dry, nickel-metal hydride, or lithium, unless necessary for handling. It must remain properly secured to the wheelchair." One (1) spare non-spillable wet battery may be carried in the hold in solid rigid packaging.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted only with the battery removed: "We do not transport mobility aids or wheelchairs with spillable (wet) batteries installed. For transportation, it is necessary to remove the battery from your wheelchair and pack it in leak-proof packaging, protected against short circuits, secured in an upright position, and surrounded by sufficient compatible absorbent material." The package must be visibly marked BATTERY, WET, WITH WHEELCHAIR and carry the corrosive and package-orientation labels.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Deliver it turned off, with terminals protected against short circuits and the battery securely attached to the frame." "Ensure that the electrical terminals (positive and negative) are protected against short circuits."
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"When you arrive at the airport counter, inform us of the type of battery your wheelchair uses, as well as the manufacturer's instructions for disassembly and reassembly, and if any special recommendations are needed for the cargo hold and battery handling." Wet-battery packaging must show the BATTERY, WET, WITH WHEELCHAIR marking plus corrosive and orientation labels.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published; the passenger must declare the chair's dimensions in advance.
Not published; the passenger must declare the chair's weight in advance.
Own chairs are returned "at the aircraft door or at the oversize-baggage belt"; door delivery may take up to 2 hours depending on the airport.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Powered chairs are handed over switched off and, where applicable, in manual/free-wheel mode; Avianca asks for assembly and disassembly instructions in advance so the chair can be handled in the hold.
Manual wheelchairs
"Yes! You can bring your wheelchair when traveling with us." You may stay in your own chair until the last moment before boarding, though some airports require earlier hand-over for infrastructure reasons.
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Avianca does not publish an in-cabin stowage option. It says a personal wheelchair travels in the hold — "Si viajas con tu propia silla de ruedas: la transportaremos en la bodega del avión" (we will carry it in the aircraft hold) — and that for flights to and from the United States "on single-aisle aircraft, your wheelchair will be transported in the cargo hold, following U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations". Nothing is said about twin-aisle aircraft.
Avianca publishes no in-cabin wheelchair stowage space or dimensions; personal chairs are carried in the hold.
Avianca publishes no maximum wheelchair dimensions and no hold-door apertures; it asks the passenger to declare the chair's dimensions in advance.
Not published. Avianca instead requires the passenger to supply the chair's class, weight, dimensions, battery type and assembly/disassembly instructions so it can be carried safely.
"Si viajas con tu propia silla de ruedas, la entregaremos en la puerta del avión o en la banda de equipaje sobredimensionado" — we will return it at the aircraft door or at the oversize-baggage belt. Where door delivery is requested, Avianca warns it "may take up to 2 hours depending on the airport".
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
In Europe, Avianca recommends that a passenger requiring wheelchair service keeps carry-on baggage to no more than 10 kg to make handling easier. In Spain the airport assistance itself is delivered by Aena at designated meeting points; requests inside 48 h must go to Aena directly.
Booking & cost
"Let us know that you need special assistance at least 24 hours before your flight departure." Longer notice applies on some routes: at least 48 hours to or from Europe (and specifically Spain and London), and 48 hours for a group of 10 or more passengers with disabilities. Avianca warns that outside these windows "we cannot guarantee the service".
Help Centre — What should I do if I need special assistance for my trip? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I request wheelchair service? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"When purchasing your ticket on avianca.com, go to the Personalize your trip page and click on Accessibility and assistance" and choose "I need a wheelchair" (loaner) or "I am bringing my own wheelchair". Existing bookings: Manage your booking → Special services. Arrive 4 h before international and 3 h before domestic flights.
Help Centre — Can I request wheelchair service? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"No additional charges: You can transport it free of charge if you use it due to a disability. If it is not for your personal use, it will be checked as additional baggage." For Europe, "wheelchair service, mobility aids (up to 2 items), service dogs and medical equipment are free of charge".
Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I request wheelchair service? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Avianca carries medical equipment plus "up to two mobility assistance devices (such as canes, walkers or crutches)" free of charge and outside the carry-on allowance (Spanish page); the Europe rules likewise say "mobility aids (up to 2 items)" are free. Items not for the traveller's personal use replace or add to the checked allowance.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Help Centre — Can I request wheelchair service? (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Avianca publishes no liability rule specific to mobility aids on its accessibility pages. For US itineraries it points travellers to the DOT Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights and 14 CFR Part 382, and offers a Complaint Resolution Official: "If you need further assistance, ask our staff to contact a Complaint Resolution Official (CRO)."
On board
Translated from the Spanish accessibility page: the crew is trained "to help you move within the aircraft with the wheelchair available on board" (ayudarte a desplazarte dentro del avión con la silla de ruedas disponible a bordo). Aircraft-type exceptions are not published.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Translated from the Spanish accessibility page: "Los baños de nuestros aviones cumplen con los estándares de accesibilidad para que puedas utilizarlos cómodamente" — the lavatories on our aircraft meet accessibility standards so you can use them comfortably. No aircraft-by-aircraft detail is given.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Crew will help you move within the cabin using the on-board wheelchair. However, "si necesitas asistencia para ir al baño, cuidado personal, comer o administrar medicamentos, deberás viajar con un acompañante" — if you need help with the lavatory, personal care, eating or taking medication you must travel with a companion.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Translated: "Nuestros asientos tienen reposabrazos móviles para facilitar el traslado entre el asiento y la silla de ruedas" — our seats have movable armrests to make the transfer between seat and wheelchair easier. For safety reasons an emergency-exit seat cannot be offered.
avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet detail. Avianca states that a passenger's own wheelchair is carried in the aircraft hold (and, for flights to/from the USA on single-aisle aircraft, specifically in the cargo hold under DOT rules), but publishes no cargo-door apertures or hold dimensions.
Worth knowing
Avianca's help centre (ayuda.avianca.com) publishes matching Spanish and English versions of the wheelchair and special-assistance articles, and the English text was used verbatim for the battery rules. The journey-stage accessibility page on avianca.com only rendered in Spanish (the /en/booking/accessibility-and-assistance/... URL returned an empty page via the proxy), so the on-board wheelchair, accessible lavatory, movable-armrest and gate-delivery statements are translated from Spanish. Things to re-check: Avianca publishes NO watt-hour limit for the battery installed in the chair (only for spares); the accessible-lavatory claim is a blanket statement with no aircraft-type detail, which is surprising for a fleet that includes A320-family single-aisle aircraft; and two attached PDFs of disability service conditions could not be read as text.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Help Centre — Can I travel with my wheelchair? / ¿Puedo viajar con mi silla de ruedas? (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Help Centre — What should I do if I need special assistance for my trip? (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Help Centre — Can I request wheelchair service? (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 avianca accesible — Discapacidad física (Spanish) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Contact us — contact centre numbers by country, US TDD line, DOT disability hotlines (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Help Centre — What items need to be approved to go in the baggage? (lithium batteries) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 6 contacts · 71% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.