All airlines Europe
Edelweiss Air
Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 48 h notice · 160 Wh installed-battery cap.
- Advance notice
- 48hours before departure
- Powered wheelchair
- Conditional
- Lithium, battery installed
- 160watt-hours maximum
- Cost to carry
- Free
Who to contact
Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.
- PhoneSwitzerland — Edelweiss Service Centre (the number printed on the barrier-free page for assistance, own-wheelchair and battery questions)24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneGermany — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneAustria — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneUnited Kingdom — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneSpain — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneUSA — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneCanada — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- PhoneKosovo — Edelweiss Service Centre24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday
- EmailEdelweiss Medical Services — the address the barrier-free page gives for assistance registration, wheelchair details, SAF/MEDIF, POC and CPAP approval
- Online form
- Online form
- Online form
- Relay / textEdelweiss prints: toll-free hotline for air travellers with disabilities 1-800-778-4838 (voice) or 1-800-455-9880 (TTY); Aviation Consumer Protection Division 202-366-2220 (voice) or 202-366-0511 (TTY).US DOT air-traveller-with-disability hotline (TTY) — printed on Edelweiss's own barrier-free page, not an Edelweiss line
Edelweiss's dedicated accessibility channel is the Service Centre on +41 848 333 593 (24/7), the "Register special support" form, or medicalservices@flyedelweiss.com — all three are repeated on every section of the barrier-free page. Caution: the mailto: links on that page are malformed (they render as "medicalservices@flyedelweiss.commailto:medicalservices@flyedelweiss.com"); the address itself is medicalservices@flyedelweiss.com. Edelweiss serves the USA and states that the US non-discrimination provision applies to all flights beginning or ending at a U.S. airport, with the exact wording "available upon request at the airports from which we serve the US" — it does not publish a named CRO phone number on its site. Medical forms (SAF/MEDIF, POC) are submitted through the SWISS Special Assistance Portal at med.swiss.com, as stated on Edelweiss's own 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.
"Transport approval is required for battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids." Send the manufacturer's technical datasheet or manual no later than 48 h before departure via the contact form. Edelweiss also notes restrictions on battery power, total weight and size, without publishing the weight or size figures.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted with transport approval, and capped: "From 1 October 2025, for safety reasons, a limit of a maximum of two batteries with a maximum capacity of 160 Wh per battery will apply to wheelchairs or other mobility aids with permanently installed/non-removable lithium batteries." All lithium batteries must comply with UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, Section 38.3.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"For safety reasons, wheelchairs with permanently-installed/non-removable lithium batteries are subject to a limit of no more than 2 batteries with a capacity of up to 160 Wh per battery." The barrier-free page dates this rule from 1 October 2025. This is a notably low ceiling — many power chairs exceed 160 Wh per battery.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published for wheelchairs. Edelweiss's 160 Wh rule is written for permanently installed/non-removable batteries only; it gives no watt-hour cap for a wheelchair battery that is removed and carried in the cabin, and does not say whether the general loose-battery table applies.
Not published for wheelchair batteries. Edelweiss's general "Replacement batteries and loose batteries" table (max 100 Wh freely, >100–160 Wh with approval, 2 units) is written for portable electronics and is not stated to apply to a spare wheelchair battery.
Not published for wheelchairs. Edelweiss gives no number of spare wheelchair batteries; the count of 2 in its general loose-battery table is a portable-electronics limit and has not been imported here.
Depends on the battery. Wet-cell (spillable): yes — "this must be removed from the wheelchair before departure". Dry, gel or leak-proof wet: no — they may stay on the chair, "secured, disconnected and their terminals insulated". Permanently installed/non-removable lithium batteries may stay, up to 2 x 160 Wh.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted only with Edelweiss's approval: "Transport approval is required for battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids." Dry, gel and leak-proof (non-spillable) wet batteries may stay on the chair — "Please ensure that dry, gel or leak-proof wet batteries are secured, disconnected and their terminals insulated before the flight." Send the manufacturer's technical datasheet or manual no later than 48 hours before departure.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted only with the battery taken out of the chair: "If your wheelchair is fitted with a wet-cell battery, this must be removed from the wheelchair before departure. If you have any questions, we will be happy to help you by telephone on +41 848 333 593." Transport approval for the powered chair is still required.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Please ensure that dry, gel or leak-proof wet batteries are secured, disconnected and their terminals insulated before the flight." Edelweiss's general battery rules add that "for all batteries, the connections must be isolated individually to prevent short circuits" — original packaging, tape over exposed terminals, or each battery in a separate protective bag.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Please send us the necessary details (manufacturer's technical datasheet or manual) for your wheelchair or mobility aid in advance, no later than 48 hours before departure, using the contact form." Edelweiss also asks you to "take the operating instructions for your wheelchair with you so that the loading crew can refer to them if necessary".
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Edelweiss states that size restrictions exist for loadability but publishes no maximum wheelchair dimensions and no per-aircraft hold figures.
Not published as a figure. Edelweiss says only that restrictions exist on "the battery power, the total weight and the size of the wheelchair or mobility aid" and decides case by case on the transport-approval request.
Not published for powered chairs.
Edelweiss's practical loading advice: "Do not let the air out of the tyres before loading the wheelchair... The tyres will also withstand any loss of pressure in the cargo hold." Take the operating instructions with you for the loading crew, and have the electrical equipment checked by a specialist beforehand if in doubt. Note the separate, much harsher rule for non-mobility devices: e-scooters, hoverboards, Segways, electric monowheels and similar are prohibited outright, regardless of watt-hours and even with the battery removed.
Manual wheelchairs
Own wheelchairs are carried, up to two mobility aids free of charge. Give Edelweiss the type of battery, weight and dimensions at least 48 h before departure. "If you wish, you can also take your own wheelchair to the aircraft at the airport. However, you must then hand it into the cargo hold when boarding."
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"For safety reasons, wheelchairs are generally only transported in the cargo hold." Edelweiss offers a loaner wheelchair at the airport and an on-board aisle chair instead, and describes no in-cabin stowage of a passenger's own folding chair.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published — Edelweiss transports wheelchairs in the cargo hold and describes no in-cabin stowage space.
Not published. Edelweiss says size restrictions exist and asks for your chair's dimensions, but publishes no maximum and no per-aircraft hold or cargo-door table.
Not published as a figure. Edelweiss states only that "For reasons of safety and loadability in the aircraft, there are restrictions regarding the battery power, the total weight and the size of the wheelchair or mobility aid" and asks you to submit your chair's weight for approval 48 h ahead.
Not published. Edelweiss says you may take your own chair to the aircraft and hand it in at boarding, but says nothing about whether it is returned at the aircraft door or at baggage reclaim on arrival.
An escort is mandatory if you cannot help yourself during an evacuation, cannot communicate with cabin crew during safety instructions, or cannot understand and follow safety instructions. Edelweiss's own table makes a companion compulsory for WCHC ("You always need a wheelchair, even in the cabin you are dependent on assistance"), for blind/visually impaired and for deaf/hearing-impaired guests needing assistance, but not for a guest who needs a chair only for longer distances or stairs.
Booking & cost
"Let us know your requirements at least 48 hours before departure by telephone on +41 848 333 593 (available 24 hours a day), using the contact form or by email." The same 48 h applies to registering your own wheelchair, reserving the on-board wheelchair and reserving an airport assistance service. Oxygen and POC/CPAP paperwork is three days.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"If you have not booked via flyedelweiss.com, please contact your booking centre directly to make all the necessary arrangements." State your assistance category (WCHR, WCHS, WCHC, BLND, DEAF or DPNA). For an own wheelchair also give the type of battery, the weight and the dimensions.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Up to two mobility aids (wheelchair, crutches or other type of walking aid) per passenger with reduced mobility may be carried free of charge." Seat reservation is also free for a guest with reduced mobility and for one accompanying person. (Oxygen cylinders are chargeable: CHF 300 short/medium-haul, CHF 450 long-haul.)
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Up to two mobility aids (wheelchair, crutches or other type of walking aid) per passenger with reduced mobility may be carried free of charge."
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Nothing mobility-aid-specific is published — no full-value rule and no liability figure for a wheelchair. Only the general baggage rule: report damage at the arrival airport Lost & Found, or within seven days in writing via the baggage contact form; "After seven days (legal deadline), Edelweiss Air AG can no longer be held liable." Non-Swiss residents: Edelweiss pays for repair, or an official assessment if the item is ruined.
On board
"A wheelchair is available for you on all our long-haul aircraft. This is also available on our short-haul fleet on request... it fits easily into the aisle of the aircraft. Please reserve the wheelchair at least 48 hours before departure."
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. Edelweiss describes an on-board aisle wheelchair and says crew "will assist you to the toilet door and back to your seat", but makes no statement about an accessible lavatory.
Airport assistance staff "take you to your seat on the aircraft in good time and in comfort — or vice versa", and WCHC is a bookable category. But an escort is mandatory for WCHC ("You always need a wheelchair, even in the cabin you are dependent on assistance" — accompanying person: yes), and "our cabin crew will not provide assistance with medical services, in the toilet or with eating".
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"We offer our guests with reduced mobility, impaired hearing or sight or a mental impairment a free seat reservation. We will reserve a seat tailored to your needs, although for safety reasons we are unfortunately unable to offer you seats at the emergency exit." "Almost all seats have movable armrests to make it easier for you to access your seat." A non-certified restraint system must be checked in advance via the Service Centre.
Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet detail. Edelweiss publishes no hold or cargo-door dimensions and no maximum wheelchair size or weight. It states only that "for reasons of safety and loadability in the aircraft, there are restrictions regarding the battery power, the total weight and the size of the wheelchair or mobility aid", and decides each chair through the mandatory transport-approval request. The one hard number it does publish is the battery limit: max 2 x 160 Wh for permanently installed/non-removable lithium batteries, in force from 1 October 2025.
Worth knowing
Edelweiss publishes its own accessibility policy on flyedelweiss.com — it does not say "the Lufthansa Group policy applies" — so everything here is cited to Edelweiss's own pages. It does route parts of the medical process to its sister airline: the SAF/MEDIF and POC forms are submitted through the SWISS Special Assistance Portal (med.swiss.com), "SWISS Medical Services also uses this form", and the foot of Edelweiss's own battery page carries the sentence "SWISS reserves the right to take more restrictive measures for safety reasons" — all stated on Edelweiss pages. The headline for a power-chair user is the 160 Wh ceiling: from 1 October 2025 a chair with permanently installed/non-removable lithium batteries may carry no more than two batteries of up to 160 Wh each, which excludes a large share of mid- and full-size power chairs. Things a human should re-check: (1) Edelweiss publishes no watt-hour rule at all for a REMOVED wheelchair battery or for a spare, and no maximum chair weight or size — every case goes through the mandatory transport approval, so get the approval in writing. (2) The mailto: links on the barrier-free page are malformed and duplicate the address. (3) Edelweiss flies to the USA and states the US non-discrimination provision applies to all flights touching a U.S. airport, but publishes no CRO phone number — only the US DOT hotlines. flyedelweiss.com returns HTTP 403 to a direct fetch; all pages were read through a reader proxy.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Barrier-free travel — assistance registration, own wheelchair, power-wheelchair battery limit, on-board wheelchair (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Electronic devices and batteries — "Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids" section (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Dangerous goods — restricted and prohibited items (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Customer service — Service Centre telephone numbers by country (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Edelweiss in Canada — ATPRR accessibility plan and progress reports (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Damaged baggage — reporting deadlines and reimbursement (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 13 contacts · 65% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.