All airlines North America
National Airlines
Powered wheelchairs accepted · carried free · no watt-hour cap on an installed battery.
- Advance notice
- Not published
- Powered wheelchair
- Yes
- Lithium, battery installed
- No stated limit
- Cost to carry
- Free
Wet-lease / ACMI operator. National Airlines usually flies aircraft and crew on behalf of other airlines. If your ticket says another airline, that airline’s wheelchair policy governs your booking — but the aircraft’s physical hold limits are this operator’s.
Who to contact
Transcribed from the airline’s own pages, exactly as it labels them.
- PhoneUSA — Reservations & Customer Service; also the number for disability complaints
- PhoneUSA — Lost & Damaged Baggage (mobility-aid damage claims)
- PhoneUSA — Orlando corporate / baggage claims (also printed as the damage-claim number in the FAQ text)
- EmailReservations & Customer Service
- EmailLost & damaged baggage claims (use for a damaged wheelchair)
- Online form
National publishes no dedicated accessibility phone line, email or TTY/relay number: 1-855-757-6999 is the general reservations and customer-service line and is also the number given for disability complaints. The Complaint Resolution Official is reached at the airport, in person or by phone, not through a published central number. Watch out: the FAQ page prints two different baggage-claim numbers — 407-283-6194 in its contact block and 1-407-283-6204 in the answer text (the latter matches the Orlando corporate number on Contact Us).
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.
CoC 6-01 covers "Transportation of wheelchairs, including folding, collapsible or non-folding un-powered wheelchairs, electric powered wheelchairs, and electric powered carts", with notice at time of booking. FAQ: battery-powered mobility devices "are allowed as checked baggage".
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ, Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries: "Lithium-ion batteries that power mobility devices and are within the federal restrictions listed below are allowed on passenger aircraft."
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ: "For mobility aids where the lithium battery is installed as an integral part of the device, there is no battery size limit."
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
National publishes no watt-hour cap for a battery removed from a collapsible chair and carried into the cabin — only the spare-battery figures (2 x <160 Wh or 1 x <300 Wh). Ask before you fly.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ: "For collapsible mobility aids, customers will be allowed two (2) spare batteries if less than 160 WH ... or one (1) spare battery if less than 300 WH." 300 Wh is the ceiling, and only for a single spare.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Maximum of two: "two (2) spare batteries if less than 160 WH for collapsible mobility aids, or one (1) spare battery if less than 300 WH" — so two spares only if each is under 160 Wh; a spare between 160 and 300 Wh must travel alone.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Only for wet cells, and only sometimes: "If the wheelchair cannot be loaded on the aircraft in an upright position, spillable (wet cell) batteries must be removed and packaged in special packaging, provided by the ground handler." A lithium battery integral to the device may stay installed with no size limit.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ: the same rules cover non-spillable (gel) batteries — visually inspectable and disconnectable, terminals protected, battery securely attached to the chair. Accepted as checked baggage.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ, Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries: accepted as checked baggage if the battery "can be visually inspected and disconnected", terminals are protected from short circuits and the battery is securely attached. If the chair cannot be loaded upright, wet-cell batteries must be removed and packed in special packaging supplied by the ground handler.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
FAQ: for lithium-ion, "The battery terminals must be protected from short circuiting" and "The battery must have been tested per UN Part III, Section 38.3." For spillable/non-spillable, the battery must be visually inspectable and disconnectable, terminals protected from short circuits, and the battery securely attached to the chair.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
National requires no document from the passenger — no spec sheet, MSDS or form is mentioned. It states only that the lithium battery "must have been tested per UN Part III, Section 38.3", which is a manufacturing standard, not paperwork you carry.
FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
National publishes no maximum powered-wheelchair size and no hold-door aperture for its B757-200 or A330-200 fleet.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No weight limit specific to powered wheelchairs is published; see manual.max_weight_kg for the general 100 lb / 45.36 kg baggage ceiling and the ambiguity around it.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: chairs and carts carried in the baggage compartment are "returned to their owners as close to the airplane door after deplaning as possible", and may be checked at the departure gate.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
National's own FAQ contradicts its Contract of Carriage on lithium batteries in the hold — see research.notes.
Manual wheelchairs
CoC 6-01 lists "Transportation of wheelchairs, including folding, collapsible or non-folding un-powered wheelchairs" among the services National provides under 14 CFR Part 382.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: "The storage for one Passenger's collapsible, manual wheelchair in the cabin of each aircraft, on a first-come, first-served basis." Crutches, braces, canes and walkers also get in-cabin stowage "provided approved stowage is available".
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No closet dimensions published. National says only that one collapsible manual wheelchair may be stowed in the cabin of each aircraft on a first-come, first-served basis.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
National publishes no maximum checked-wheelchair size. It states only that a checked wheelchair "may surpass the overall dimension limits" that apply to ordinary bags (80 in / 203.2 cm total).
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No weight limit specific to wheelchairs is published. The general checked-baggage ceiling is 100 lb / 45.36 kg and 80 in / 203.2 cm total dimensions (CoC 8-02), but 8-02 says a checked wheelchair "may surpass the overall dimension limits" without saying whether the weight ceiling still binds.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: "Wheelchairs or carts carried in the baggage compartment returned to their owners as close to the airplane door after deplaning as possible." They may be checked at the ticket counter or the departure gate.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet is the B757-200 and A330-200 (CoC 5-02 seat tables). National states it cannot accept special meal requests.
Booking & cost
No fixed hour deadline for a mobility aid. National says passengers "must provide notice at time of booking for electric chairs or powered carts", and should arrive 2 hours before a domestic and 3 hours before an international flight. Its published 48-hour deadlines cover portable oxygen concentrators and support animals, not wheelchairs.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: notice for electric chairs/powered carts must be given at time of booking; the reservations centre is 1-855-757-6999. 6-03: "National Airlines has a Complaint Resolution Officer at each airport we serve, available either in person or by telephone."
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: wheelchairs and carts "may be checked at the ticket counter or the departure gate, and are free of charge (they are not counted toward your luggage limits)". 8-02 adds that one wheelchair per passenger "will not count for purposes of excess baggage fees".
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 8-02: "One car seat, stroller, or wheelchair per Passenger may be checked. It will not count for purposes of excess baggage fees; also, it may surpass the overall dimension limits." National publishes no higher figure; 14 CFR Part 382, which it says it follows, is broader.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 8-09: liability is capped at $3,500 per passenger for travel wholly within the USA and 1,131 SDR under the Montreal Convention, but "Passengers with Qualified Disabilities traveling with wheelchairs or other mobility devices are exempt from liability restrictions for delays, or loss or damage to these items." Damage must be reported within 4 hours of arrival and a written claim filed within 30 days.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
CoC 6-01: "An onboard aisle chair for Passengers who need assistance to/from the lavatory." No aircraft exceptions are stated.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. National mentions an onboard aisle chair for reaching the lavatory but says nothing about an accessible lavatory on the B757-200 or A330-200.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01 lists pre-boarding "before other guests", "Assistance in boarding and deplaning" and "Assistance in loading and retrieving carry-on items".
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
CoC 6-01: "A limited number of pre-reserved seats on each aircraft blocked to accommodate Passengers who identify themselves as having a qualified disability. Some adjacent seats blocked until 24 hours before the flight" for those who must travel with a companion. Exit-row seats are barred to anyone who "requires the use of assistive devices" other than glasses, contacts or hearing aids.
National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet detail. Passenger fleet in the Contract of Carriage seat tables is one B757-200 (N963CA) and three A330-200s (N819CA, N828CA, N898CA). National publishes no hold-door or hold-compartment dimensions for either type.
Worth knowing
NOT a cargo-only carrier, despite the name and the roster hint. National Airlines (N8/NCR, National Air Cargo Holdings, Inc. dba National Airlines, Orlando FL) sells three products on its own Services page: Cargo Charters, PASSENGER CHARTERS and ACMI/CMI. It is a US Part 121 carrier with a full DOT-compliant passenger rulebook — a Contract of Carriage with a Chapter 6 'Special Needs Passengers', a Complaint Resolution Officer at every airport it serves, a Customer Service Plan and a Tarmac Delay Plan — and the CoC seat tables show a B757-200 and three A330-200s in passenger configuration (Business/Premium Economy/Economy). Passenger seats are sold by charter (including 14 CFR Part 380 public charters) rather than through an online booking engine, hence operator_type acmi_charter rather than scheduled_passenger; the CoC nonetheless describes ticketed reservations, fares and refunds. passenger_service is therefore TRUE. CONTRADICTION A WHEELCHAIR USER MUST KNOW: CoC section 8-01 states flatly "Lithium batteries will not be allowed as checked Baggage", while the FAQ & Conditions page explicitly allows lithium-ion mobility-aid batteries in the hold with "no battery size limit" when integral to the device. The mobility-aid rule is the specific one and matches 14 CFR Part 382 / 49 CFR, but the two National pages plainly disagree. Similarly CoC 8-06 lists "wet batteries" among hazardous goods that "may not be checked in baggage or carried on the aircraft", yet immediately refers the reader to Chapter 6 for "special mobility or medical items permitted in the cabin", and the FAQ separately accepts spillable wet-cell wheelchair batteries. Confirm with the airline before travel. The 160 Wh figure that appears on the FAQ page under 'Lithium Batteries' is the general portable-electronics rule and has deliberately NOT been recorded as a wheelchair limit. Data-quality warning about the source itself: National's FAQ restricted-items section contains copy-pasted text naming another airline ("To ensure the safety of our customers and employees, DELTA will not accept the transport of balance gilders, hoverboards..."), so parts of that page are boilerplate lifted from a third party. Only the wheelchair/mobility-aid paragraphs, which are self-consistent and specific, have been used here. National may require a passenger with a disability to travel with a safety assistant where the passenger cannot understand safety instructions, cannot assist in their own evacuation because of a severe mobility impairment, or has both severe hearing and severe vision impairments (CoC 6-01) — and it refuses carriage to anyone "unable to occupy a seat with the armrest down and seatbelt (with extension if necessary) fastened" or requiring a stretcher or IV (CoC 10-01). National states it cannot accept special meal requests. The CoC page carries the date Dec 22, 2021 and the Customer Service Plan Nov 30, 2023.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 National Airlines Contract of Carriage — Chapter 6 Special Needs Passengers; Chapter 8 Checked Baggage (page dated Dec 22, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 FAQ & Conditions — Restricted Items: Wheelchairs/Mobility Aids with Lithium-Ion Batteries; with Spillable and Non-spillable Batteries (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 National Airlines Customer Service Plan (page dated Nov 30, 2023) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 National Airlines Services — Cargo Charters, Passenger Charters, ACMI/CMI (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 National Airlines Contact Us — offices and phone numbers (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 5 official sources · 6 contacts · 72% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.