All airlines Asia Pacific
Bamboo Airways
Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 24 h notice.
- Advance notice
- 24hours 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.
- PhoneVietnam — Customer Service Center / Call Center (hotline 1900 1166)Call charges 1,000 VND/minute; press 1 for Bamboo Airways
- PhoneVietnam — Customer Service Center alternate hotline 1900 1133Call charges 1,000 VND/minute
- PhoneHo Chi Minh City ticket office (481 Cong Hoa Street)08:00-17:00 Monday to Friday
- PhoneHanoi ticket office (ext. 1905/1906/1907)
- EmailCustomer Service Center (hotline mailbox)
- EmailHo Chi Minh City ticket office
- EmailHanoi ticket office
Bamboo Airways publishes no dedicated disability desk, no special-assistance email address, no assistance-request web form and no TTY/relay service. Wheelchair requests are accepted only "via Bamboo Airways ticket offices (including our official ticket offices and travel agent offices) and our Hotline" — the generic 1900 1166 call centre. The contact page's office list covers Vietnam and Thailand only.
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.
Battery-powered mobility aids travel as checked baggage, but every configuration in Bamboo's dangerous-items table is marked "Approved by aircraft operators: Yes" — prior airline approval is required — and lithium chairs are accepted only "in case batteries are removed and transported in passenger cabin". "Mobility aids with non-removable lithium batteries: not accepted as checked baggage." Passengers "are recommended to contact aircraft operator in advance before transport".
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Allowed in case batteries are removed and transported in passenger cabin." Operator approval and pilot-in-command notification are both required, and batteries must meet UN Manual of Tests and Criteria Part III sub-section 38.3. "Mobility aids with non-removable lithium batteries: not accepted as checked baggage."
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No watt-hour ceiling is published for a lithium battery left installed, because that configuration is refused: "Mobility aids with non-removable lithium batteries: not accepted as checked baggage." The battery must come out and travel in the cabin.
Where the aid is designed so the user can fold it and remove the battery: "The battery must be removed and transported in a passenger compartment... Battery capacity must not exceed 300 Wh." Exposed terminals must be insulated (e.g. taped) and each battery placed in a safety bag; removal must follow the manufacturer's or owner's instructions.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"May transport 01 spare battery no stronger than 300 Wh or 02 spare batteries no stronger than 160 Wh each." The pilot in command must be informed of the location of spare lithium-ion batteries.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Maximum two: "May transport 01 spare battery no stronger than 300 Wh or 02 spare batteries no stronger than 160 Wh each" — so one spare up to 300 Wh, or two if each is no more than 160 Wh.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Depends on chemistry and design. Lithium: the battery must be removed and carried in the passenger cabin, and a non-removable lithium battery makes the aid unacceptable as checked baggage. Non-spillable: the battery stays firmly attached unless the aid folds and is designed for detachment, in which case the detached battery goes in a secure bag on the cargo deck. Wet cell: stays attached if the aid can be loaded and secured upright, otherwise removed into a sealed package.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted in checked baggage with operator approval. The battery must be firmly attached to the aid, terminals protected from short circuit (e.g. in battery containers) and separated from each other; the battery must comply with special provision A67 or be tested for vibration and pressure per Packing Instruction 872. Not permitted as carry-on or on the person.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted in checked baggage only with operator approval and notification of the pilot in command. Where possible the aid is loaded and secured upright with the battery firmly attached, terminals protected from short circuit and circuits isolated; otherwise the battery must be removed into a leak-proof, alkali/acid-resistant package with absorbent material, marked "Battery, wet, with wheelchair" and a corrosive label.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Required for every battery type. Lithium: "Terminals of the battery must be protected from short circuit by isolation such as tapes with respect to exposed terminals", each battery in a safety bag. Non-spillable: terminals protected from short circuit, e.g. in battery containers, and separated from each other. Wet cell: terminals protected from short circuit and circuits isolated.
Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No spec sheet, MSDS, manufacturer letter or form is required of the passenger. The published requirements fall on the battery itself (UN Manual of Tests and Criteria Part III sub-section 38.3; special provision A67 / Packing Instruction 872 for non-spillable batteries), not on paperwork the traveller must produce.
No maximum dimensions for a powered mobility aid, and no hold or hold-door dimensions, are published.
No maximum weight for a powered wheelchair or scooter is published.
Nothing is published about returning a powered wheelchair at the aircraft door or arrival gate.
Every battery-powered mobility aid must be "transported in a manner that prevents and protects from damage caused by collision with other luggage and goods", and the pilot in command must be told where the aid or its battery is loaded. Bamboo republishes the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam's Decision No. 1541/QD-CHK of 14 September 2021 on its own dangerous-items page and applies it as its policy.
Manual wheelchairs
The passenger's own wheelchair is carried free and outside the checked-baggage allowance when the passenger is the wheelchair user: "Wheelchair is not considered as checked baggage allowance if the passenger is the one requiring wheelchair assistance."
Special baggage — Wheelchairs / baby-strollers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Bamboo Airways does not say whether a folding manual wheelchair may be stowed in the cabin. Its only cabin rule is the general carry-on limit of 115 cm total (56 x 36 x 23 cm), which is not written for wheelchairs.
No in-cabin wheelchair stowage limit is published. The 56 x 36 x 23 cm / 115 cm carry-on figure is a general cabin-bag rule and is not recorded here as a wheelchair limit.
No maximum wheelchair dimensions and no hold or hold-door dimensions are published.
No maximum weight for a wheelchair is published.
Nothing is published about returning the passenger's own chair at the aircraft door or jet bridge; the disabled-passengers page describes only Bamboo's own airport wheelchairs and high-lift trucks.
Bamboo Airways uses the WCHR / WCHS / WCHC service codes and caps each per flight: a maximum of 08 WCHR/WCHS passengers per flight; WCHS not exceeding the number of the aircraft's main emergency exits (accompanied) or half that number (unaccompanied); WCHC 02 passengers per flight when accompanied. Passengers are asked to be at the airport at least 2 hours before departure.
Booking & cost
"Requests for wheelchair services must be made at least 24 hours before scheduled departure time." Longer lead times apply elsewhere: passengers requiring special assistance services "are asked to complete required documents 14 days prior to the date of departure", a health certificate must be dated within 07 days of actual departure, and oversized/special baggage must be booked "at least 03 hours before flight departure time".
Disabled passengers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special baggage — Wheelchairs / baby-strollers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Requests must be made at least 24 hours before scheduled departure time, via Bamboo Airways ticket offices (including our official ticket offices and travel agent offices) and our Hotline." Online check-in is not applicable to "Passengers requiring special medical assistance (wheelchair)" or to any passenger requesting a special service other than a special meal.
Disabled passengers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Disabled passengers (global site) — online check-in exclusions notice (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Wheelchair is not considered as checked baggage allowance if the passenger is the one requiring wheelchair assistance. One (1) wheelchair can check-in with free of charge for each passenger." "If the above condition is not met, the wheelchair/baby stroller shall be considered as baggage allowance and charged as excess baggage if the total weight exceeds baggage allowance."
Special baggage — Wheelchairs / baby-strollers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"One (1) wheelchair can check-in with free of charge for each passenger." A further device falls inside the ordinary checked-baggage allowance and is charged as excess baggage above it.
Special baggage — Wheelchairs / baby-strollers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Our liability with checked baggage is limited by international air transport regulations based on the Warsaw Convention or Montreal Convention, and pursuant to Bamboo Airways' Conditions of Carriage." Published caps: international "Economy Class: $30 or equivalent local currency per item; Business Class: $40"; domestic "Completely damaged bag/suitcase, non-repairable 500,000 [Economy] / 750,000 [Business]" VND. No mobility-aid exception is published.
Delayed, Damaged or Lost baggage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
Bamboo Airways publishes nothing about an on-board aisle wheelchair. The specialised equipment it lists is ground equipment — "wheelchairs, high lift trucks etc." used at the terminal and on the ramp.
Nothing is published about accessible lavatories.
WCHC covers passengers "completely immobile, who require assistance to move about while on the ground (at terminal, on ramp), while entering/exiting aircraft and while in the cabin", but it is capped at 02 accompanied passengers per flight and for unaccompanied passengers the table states "This service is currently not available." A travel assistant must be 18 or over, may escort only one passenger, and is responsible for helping them up and down the aircraft steps and to and from the cabin seat.
Disabled passengers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Bamboo Airways publishes no movable-armrest, bulkhead or seat-allocation rule for disabled passengers: its disabled-passenger page covers WCHR/WCHS/WCHC categories and per-flight caps but never where such a passenger is seated.
Worth knowing
The battery rules are specific and complete (Bamboo republishes CAAV Decision 1541/QD-CHK as its own policy): removable lithium battery into the cabin, 300 Wh ceiling, one 300 Wh spare or two 160 Wh spares, terminals taped, safety bags, pilot in command informed. THE HARD STOP: "Mobility aids with non-removable lithium batteries: not accepted as checked baggage" — many modern power chairs have sealed packs and cannot fly Bamboo. CAPACITY LIMITS THAT CAN LEAVE YOU BEHIND: 08 WCHR/WCHS passengers per flight maximum; WCHS limited to the number of main emergency exits (accompanied) or half (unaccompanied); WCHC 02 accompanied passengers per flight; and WCHC for UNACCOMPANIED passengers is marked "This service is currently not available", so a solo passenger who cannot move about the cabin unaided appears not to be carried. Requests are ticket-office or hotline only — no online request, and wheelchair users are excluded from online check-in. High-lift trucks exist only at HAN, SGN, DAD, PQC, TBB, CXR, VII, VCL, VCA and DLI; elsewhere "Bamboo Airways' ground staff and passenger's travel assistant (if any) will assist passengers in ascending/descending the aircraft steps". WORST FINDING FOR AN EXPENSIVE CHAIR: the published damage cap is US$30 per item in Economy, US$40 in Business on international routes; a human should re-check whether the Conditions of Carriage displace that schedule for mobility aids. Bamboo also publishes broad refusal powers ("Bamboo Airways shall reject transportation if passenger's conditions are expected to worsen during the itinerary or may affect other passengers"), documents due 14 days before departure and a health certificate no more than 7 days old.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Disabled passengers (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Special baggage — Wheelchairs / baby-strollers (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Dangerous items — battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Contact Information (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Delayed, Damaged or Lost baggage (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Disabled passengers (global site) — online check-in exclusions notice (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 7 contacts · 63% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.