wheelair

All airlines Asia Pacific

Lao Airlines

IATA QV ICAO LAO Lao PDR · laoairlines.com (opens in a new tab)

carried free · 72 h notice.

Advance notice
72hours before departure
Powered wheelchair
Not published
Lithium, battery installed
Not published
Cost to carry
Free

Fragments only. Lao Airlines publishes some assistance information but not a full mobility-aid policy. What is below is everything it actually states. Everything marked “not published” genuinely is — confirm it with the airline rather than assuming the international baseline applies.

Who to contact

Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.

  • Phone
    Laos — Reservation & Ticketing, Vientiane
  • Phone
    Laos (domestic) — Hotline 1626
  • Phone
    Laos — Wattay International Airport office
  • Email
    Special-assistance / wheelchair requests (Reservation & Ticketing Division, Vientiane)
  • Email
    Online booking support
  • Email
    Online booking support (alternative)
  • Relay / text
    +856 20 5554 1626, 08:00-17:00. Lao Airlines also publishes WhatsApp numbers for Luang Prabang (+856 20 5764 1616) and Savannakhet (+856 20 2266 1626).
    WhatsApp — Vientiane Reservation & Ticketing

vtessqv@laoairlines.com is the closest thing to a disability channel — the Passengers with Disabilities page names it directly for assistance requests. No TTY / text relay is published; WhatsApp is the only text channel.

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 accepted
Not published

Lao Airlines publishes no policy on battery-powered wheelchairs. The Dangerous Goods page names "wheelchair with wet-cell batteries" as an example of dangerous goods, but nothing at all is published about chairs with dry, gel or lithium-ion batteries. Contact the Reservation & Ticketing Division before booking.

Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Dangerous Goods (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Lithium-ion batteries
Not published

Not published — lithium-ion mobility-aid batteries are not mentioned anywhere on the Lao Airlines site.

Watt-hour cap — battery stays in the chair
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines publishes no watt-hour figure of any kind; the global ICAO/IATA fallback applies.

Watt-hour cap — battery removed into the cabin
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines publishes no watt-hour figure of any kind; the global ICAO/IATA fallback applies.

Watt-hour cap — spare battery
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines publishes no watt-hour figure of any kind; the global ICAO/IATA fallback applies.

Spare batteries permittedmaximum number under any published configuration
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines says nothing about spare mobility-aid batteries.

Battery must be removed
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines does not say whether a wheelchair battery must be removed and carried in the cabin.

Non-spillable batteriesgel, AGM, sealed lead-acid, dry cell
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines says nothing about gel, AGM, sealed lead-acid or dry-cell wheelchair batteries.

Wet / spillable batteries
No

"For safety reasons, dangerous articles such as those listed below must not be carried in passenger's baggage: … Corrosives such as acids, alkalis, and wet cell batteries." The Dangerous Goods page separately cites "wheelchair with wet-cell batteries" as dangerous goods which, unless forbidden outright, "must be shipped as cargo under special packing requirements and handling procedures". No acceptance route for a wet-battery wheelchair carried as a mobility aid is described.

Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Restricted Items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Dangerous Goods (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Terminal protection & immobilisation
Not published

Not published. Lao Airlines' Dangerous Goods page cites "wheelchair with wet-cell batteries" as an example of dangerous goods but sets out no terminal-insulation, disconnection or immobilisation requirement for a mobility aid.

Paperwork the airline wants
Not published

Not published. Lao Airlines demands no battery spec sheet, MSDS or manufacturer label; its three-sentence Passengers with Disabilities page asks only that the wheelchair service be requested 72 hours ahead through an agent or a Lao Airlines office.

Size limit for a powered chair
Not published

No maximum powered-wheelchair dimensions are published.

Weight limit for a powered chair
Not published

Not published for powered wheelchairs.

Returned at the aircraft door
Not published

Not published.

Nothing is published about carrying a powered chair or about the hold. Anyone travelling with a power chair should email vtessqv@laoairlines.com well beyond the 72-hour recommendation and get the battery type approved in writing.

Manual wheelchairs

Manual chairs accepted
Yes

Lao Airlines offers a wheelchair service for passengers with reduced mobility and lists "a fully collapsible wheelchair" among the personal objects each passenger may carry without additional charge in addition to the cabin baggage allowance.

Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Folding chair may travel in the cabin
Not published

Not stated explicitly. Lao Airlines lists "a fully collapsible wheelchair" under "Additional Carry-On Items" — "personal objects for use during embarking, disembarking, or on board, provided that such objects are retained by the passenger's custody" — but never says the chair may be stowed in the cabin.

Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

In-cabin stowage limit
Not published

Not published.

Size limit for a checked manual chair
Not published

No maximum wheelchair dimensions are published.

Weight limit for a manual chair
Not published

Not published for mobility aids. The 20 kg / 30 kg figures on the site are the ordinary checked-baggage allowances by fare and cabin.

Returned at the aircraft door
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines does not say where a checked wheelchair is returned.

Conditions of Carriage 6.6.4: Lao Airlines may require a passenger to be accompanied for safety reasons if the passenger cannot evacuate on their own or cannot understand the in-flight safety instructions. 6.6.5: it reserves the right to refuse carriage of any passenger who must travel on a stretcher. 6.6.7: acceptance of passengers with disabilities may be subject to prior arrangement with the airline.

Booking & cost

Advance notice requiredhours before scheduled departure
72h

"It is recommended that passengers make their request at least 72 hours prior to flight departure." Published as a recommendation, not a hard deadline, and it covers the wheelchair service generally — Lao Airlines publishes no separate lead time for a powered chair.

Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

How to request assistance
Request through a travel agent or directly via a Lao Airlines office; requests may be emailed to vtessqv@laoairlines.com

"Lao Airlines offers wheelchair service to passengers who have difficulties walking or moving on their own (reduced mobility). The passenger should request this service through the travel agents or a directly via a Lao Airlines office… Please kindly send your request to vtessqv@laoairlines.com." Conditions of Carriage 6.6.2 adds that passengers with a movement disability must inform the airline of their needs at the time of booking.

Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Conditions of Carriage — Article 6.6 Special services; Article 16 Liability for damage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Charge for carrying the aid
No fee

"In addition to the standard cabin baggage allowance, each passenger may carry, without additional charges, the following personal objects…: A fully collapsible wheelchair; A pair of crutches and/or braces or another prosthetic device for the passenger's use." Caveat: nothing is published about charges for a checked or powered wheelchair, and Conditions of Carriage 6.6.6 says "Passengers may be required to pay a service fee for certain special services we provide."

Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Conditions of Carriage — Article 6.6 Special services; Article 16 Liability for damage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Mobility devices carried free
Not published

Not published as a number. The free additional carry-on list names "a fully collapsible wheelchair" and "a pair of crutches and/or braces or another prosthetic device" but gives no per-passenger count.

Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

If they damage your chair
Convention (Montreal/Warsaw) baggage limit, or a higher declared value under Art. 9.7 — no mobility-aid-specific rule

Conditions of Carriage 16.3.3: "The limit of Our liability for Damage to Baggage (including both Unchecked Baggage and Checked Baggage) in the case of destruction, loss, damage, or delay shall be as prescribed by the Convention, or a higher amount not exceeding the declared sum under Article 9.7." 16.3.2 excludes "fair wear and tear of Baggage resulting from the ordinary handling and moving during air transportation". Nothing mobility-aid-specific is published.

Conditions of Carriage — Article 6.6 Special services; Article 16 Liability for damage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

On board

On-board aisle chair
Not published

Not published — Lao Airlines does not say whether an on-board aisle chair is carried.

Accessible lavatory
Not published

Not published.

Crew help you transfer
Not published

Not described. Lao Airlines says only that it "offers wheelchair service to passengers who have difficulties walking or moving on their own", and its Conditions of Carriage (6.6.4) allow it to require an accompanying passenger where the passenger cannot evacuate unaided or understand safety instructions.

Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Conditions of Carriage — Article 6.6 Special services; Article 16 Liability for damage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Seating & movable armrests
Not published

Not published — nothing about movable armrests or bulkhead seating for disabled passengers.

Worth knowing

Marked 'partial' deliberately: Lao Airlines' dedicated Passengers with Disabilities page is three sentences long (wheelchair service exists, request it 72 hours ahead through an agent or a Lao Airlines office, email vtessqv@laoairlines.com) and the airline publishes NOTHING on powered wheelchairs, lithium batteries, watt-hours, spares, terminal insulation, aisle chairs or accessible lavatories. Everything else recorded here is drawn from the general baggage, restricted-items, dangerous-goods and Conditions of Carriage pages, not from disability-specific content. The one hard battery fact is negative: wet-cell batteries are on the list of articles that must not be carried in passengers' baggage, and 'wheelchair with wet-cell batteries' is cited as dangerous goods. Two clauses to watch: CoC 6.6.5 lets the airline refuse stretcher passengers outright, and 6.6.6 allows a service fee to be charged for 'certain special services' — which sits awkwardly next to the free-carriage line for a collapsible wheelchair on the baggage page. The site is a WordPress build; /en/restricted-items/ and /en/special-services-requirement/ 404 — the live paths are /en/restrictions/ and the Passengers with Disabilities page.

Sources

Every figure above traces to one of these.

  1. s1 Passengers with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  2. s2 Baggage & Optional Service Charges — additional carry-on items and restricted items (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  3. s3 Restricted Items (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  4. s4 Dangerous Goods (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  5. s5 Conditions of Carriage — Article 6.6 Special services; Article 16 Liability for damage (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  6. s6 Contact Us — Lao Airlines ticket offices (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29

Record quality

Record status partial · confidence medium · 6 official sources · 7 contacts · 23% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.