All airlines Asia Pacific
Myanmar Airways International
Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free.
- Advance notice
- Not published
- 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.
- PhoneMyanmar — MAI head office / reservations (call to add a wheelchair request)
- PhoneMyanmar (domestic short code) 9787 — MAI head office / reservations
- PhoneMyanmar — Baggage Services (damaged / lost mobility aid claims)
- Online form
MAI publishes no dedicated accessibility desk, email or TTY line. Every e-mail address on maiair.com is JavaScript-obfuscated ("This email address is being protected from spambots") and could not be read from the page. Wheelchair requests go through the general reservations / customer service centre.
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 are permitted in or as checked baggage (never carry-on), but the Conditions of Carriage list foldable electric wheelchairs as restricted items that "can be carried only if they are in accordance with all relevant regulations and have got prior permission", and the dangerous goods rules require the passenger to "make advance arrangements with operator".
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 General Conditions of Carriage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted in or as checked baggage only, never carry-on, and only with MAI's approval: its dangerous-goods table sets "The Approval of th operator is required" to YES for battery-powered wheelchairs with lithium batteries, and Ref 3 adds "passengers mus make advance arrangements with operator". Batteries must meet each test in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria Part III subsection 38.3; the aid, batteries, cabling and controls must be secured with straps or tie-downs; a battery removed from the aid must not exceed 300 Wh (or 160 Wh each where two are fitted) and is carried in the cabin.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No watt-hour cap is published for a battery that stays installed in the chair — MAI's 300 Wh / 160 Wh figures apply only to a battery removed from the aid and to spares.
"the battery removed from the mobility aid must not exceed 300 Wh, or for mobility aids fitted with two batteries, each battery must not exceed 160 Wh." A removed battery must be carried in the passenger cabin and protected from damage, e.g. in a protective pouch.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"a passenger may carry a maximum of one spare lithium ion battery not exceeding 300 Wh or two spare batteries each not exceeding 160 Wh"; spares travel in the passenger cabin, each protected from damage.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Lithium-ion: one spare up to 300 Wh, or two spares each not exceeding 160 Wh — so two is the maximum. For non-spillable / A123 / A199 batteries MAI allows only one spare, and those spares must travel in strong rigid packagings in the cargo compartment, not the cabin.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not required as a rule: for lithium and non-spillable batteries the battery may stay "securely attached to the wheelchair or mobility aid" with circuits isolated per the manufacturer's instructions, or be "removed by the user, if the mobility aid is specifically designed to allow it". Removal is compulsory only for a spillable battery when the aid cannot be kept upright.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted in or as checked baggage only, never carry-on, and only with MAI's approval: its dangerous-goods table sets "The Approval of th operator is required" to YES for wheelchairs with non-spillable wet batteries or batteries meeting Special Provision A123 or A199, and Ref 5 adds "passenger must make advance arrangements with operator". Terminals must be protected from short circuits, the battery securely attached and the circuits isolated per the manufacturer's instructions; one spare battery is allowed, in strong rigid packaging, carried in the cargo compartment.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Accepted only upright: "MAI will accept Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Spillable Batteries shall be loaded in an upright position. If the Aircraft does not permit the upright loading and transport, the wheelchair will not be accepted." If it can be kept upright the battery may stay installed, with terminals protected, the battery securely attached, circuits isolated and spill-resistant vent caps fitted where feasible.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
MAI requires the operator to verify that battery terminals are protected from short circuits, that the battery is securely attached to the aid and electrical circuits isolated following the manufacturer's instructions, and that the aid is prepared so it cannot be unintentionally activated.
Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No spec sheet, MSDS or form is demanded. MAI requires lithium batteries to be of a UN 38.3-tested type and asks staff to obtain the passenger's confirmation that a wet battery is non-spillable, but publishes no paperwork requirement.
MAI publishes no maximum dimensions for a powered wheelchair and no hold-door figures for its fleet.
MAI publishes no weight limit for a powered wheelchair.
Not published for powered chairs.
Powered mobility aids are checked-baggage only — MAI's dangerous goods table marks every battery-powered mobility aid "NO" for carry-on.
Manual wheelchairs
Wheelchairs, crutches and other orthopedic aids are carried free of charge and do not count towards the checked baggage allowance.
Checked Baggage — Special Items (Orthopedic Tools) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. MAI's cabin baggage rules allow a walking stick or crutches in addition to hand baggage, but say nothing about stowing a folding manual wheelchair in the cabin.
No in-cabin wheelchair stowage space or dimension is published.
MAI publishes no maximum dimensions for a checked wheelchair.
No weight limit for mobility aids is published; the 23 kg / 158 cm figures on the baggage page are the ordinary free checked-bag allowance, which orthopedic aids are explicitly outside.
MAI does not publish whether a checked wheelchair is returned at the aircraft door or at the baggage carousel.
Booking & cost
No deadline in hours is published. MAI states only that acceptance of disabled passengers is "subject to prior arrangement with us", that foldable electric wheelchairs need "prior permission", and that passengers with lithium or non-spillable battery mobility aids "must make advance arrangements with operator".
"If you need a wheelchair on your MAI flights, please call our reservations team who are happy to assist you with further information and will add the necessary information to your booking." The Conditions of Carriage add that foldable electric wheelchairs "can be carried only if they are in accordance with all relevant regulations and have got prior permission".
Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 General Conditions of Carriage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Passengers requiring wheelchairs, crutches, or other orthopedic aids may bring these items free of charge, and they do not count towards the baggage allowance." Separately, WCHC/WCHS passengers who cannot climb the passenger steps must pay the hi-lift charge at stations where the aircraft is not on an aerobridge, collected at each station.
Checked Baggage — Special Items (Orthopedic Tools) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
MAI does not publish how many mobility devices are carried free per passenger.
MAI publishes no mobility-aid-specific damage rule. Its general checked-baggage liability follows the unamended Warsaw Convention and Myanmar DCA regulations: "the Carrier may compensate up to USD 20 per kilogram using a coupon applicable to purchase airlines' related services or products", with a higher limit only if a special value declaration is made and the supplementary fee paid at check-in.
General Conditions of Carriage (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
MAI does not say whether an on-board aisle wheelchair is carried.
Not published.
Not published as such. The only boarding-assistance content is that WCHC/WCHS passengers unable to climb the passenger steps require a hi-lift, which they must pay for where the aircraft is not on an aerobridge.
No movable-armrest or bulkhead seating policy is published; MAI states only that seat requests cannot be guaranteed and seats may be reassigned for operational, safety or security reasons.
Fleet detail. Wheelchairs with spillable (wet) batteries are refused outright where the aircraft does not permit upright loading and transport — MAI states the chair "will not be accepted" in that case.
Worth knowing
MAI has no dedicated accessibility section beyond a short 'Wheelchair' paragraph, but its Dangerous Goods Policy reproduces the full IATA mobility-aid provisions (Ref 2 spillable, Ref 3 lithium-ion, Ref 5 non-spillable/A123/A199) with an MAI-specific variation on spillable batteries. Two costs a traveller should budget for: WCHC/WCHS passengers must pay the hi-lift charge at stations where the aircraft is not on an aerobridge (collected at each station), and non-spillable spare batteries must go in the hold in rigid packaging rather than the cabin. Email contact could not be transcribed — every address on the site is JavaScript-obfuscated. The site footer still reads 'Copyright © 2021', so some pages may be stale.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Dangerous Goods Policy (mobility aid provisions Ref 2, 3, 5) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Checked Baggage — Special Items (Orthopedic Tools) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 General Conditions of Carriage (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Contact Us — Our Offices (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Contact Us — General Enquiry (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 4 contacts · 53% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.