Shanghai Airlines

IATA FM ICAO CSH China (People's Republic of) · www.ceair.com (opens in a new tab)

Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 48 h notice.

Advance notice: 48hours 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.

Phone

95530

China — China Eastern / Shanghai Airlines hotline 95530 (the channel named for every wheelchair request)
Phone

+86 21 20695530

International — the China Eastern / Shanghai Airlines customer service line, printed on ceair.com as the "China Eastern Airlines、Shanghai Airlines complaint hotline"; Shanghai Airlines is a China Eastern subsidiary and publishes no separate line
Phone

400 60 95530

China — China Eastern / Shanghai Airlines baggage service line (damaged / delayed baggage, including mobility aids), published on ceair.com
Email

customercare@ceair.com

Complaints for China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines (Email for Complaints)

Shanghai Airlines has no website of its own: it is a wholly owned China Eastern subsidiary and publishes through ceair.com, which carries Shanghai Airlines' OWN General Conditions of Carriage ("Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage", January 2026) alongside China Eastern's, and whose wheelchair notice states in terms that it applies to flights operated by, and bearing the flight numbers of, China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines (仅受理东、上航实际承运，且挂东、上航航班号的航班). The ceair.com footer likewise prints "China Eastern Airlines、Shanghai Airlines complaint hotline: +0086-21-20695530" with customercare@ceair.com. There is no separate accessibility desk, no TTY/text-relay line and no dedicated assistance-request URL — requests go through 95530, a China Eastern ticket office, or the website/app/mobile site. Beware shanghaiair.com, which is an unrelated private domain.

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.

Powered chairs accepted

Conditional

Conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(3): "Passengers with limited mobility due to disability or a health condition who bring electric wheelchairs or mobility aids must first obtain consent from Shanghai Airlines." The device must comply with the dangerous-goods rules and with the legal requirements on the number of powered aids checked free. The request must be lodged 48 h ahead and the passenger must reach the airport 2 h early on the day of travel to complete the check-in formalities.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 轮椅旅客服务须知 (Wheelchair passenger service notice, Chinese) — 仅受理东、上航实际承运航班 (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Lithium-ion batteries

Conditional

Accepted only with the airline's consent: conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(3) — "Passengers with limited mobility due to disability or a health condition who bring electric wheelchairs or mobility aids must first obtain consent from Shanghai Airlines." The lithium batteries "must comply with the requirements of each test specified in Section 38.3 of Part III of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Criteria"; the battery is removed wherever the design allows (max 300 Wh each), and lithium-battery wheelchairs are carved out of the general 160 Wh ban.

Watt-hour cap — battery stays in the chair

Not published

Not published. Shanghai Airlines requires the battery to be removed wherever the chair's design allows, and the 300 Wh figure it publishes is for a REMOVED battery. Where the battery cannot be removed, the conditions of carriage require only that the design give adequate protection against damage, that the battery be securely fastened and that the circuit be disconnected per the manufacturer's instructions — no watt-hour cap is stated for a battery that stays installed.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Watt-hour cap — battery removed into the cabin

300 Wh

"Each battery removed from the wheelchair must not exceed 300 Wh", and removed batteries must be carried into the cabin by the passenger. The wheelchair notice adds that if the chair is fitted with two batteries, neither may exceed 160 Wh.

Watt-hour cap — spare battery

300 Wh

"Each passenger may carry one spare battery with a maximum capacity of 300 Wh or two spare batteries with a maximum capacity of 160 Wh each. Spare batteries must be carried as hand baggage and properly protected, such as placing each battery in a separate protective bag."

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Regulations on Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries — §9 Wheelchairs powered by lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Spare batteries permittedmaximum number under any published configuration

Maximum of two: one spare of up to 300 Wh, or two spares of up to 160 Wh each, per passenger, carried as hand baggage. This is the wheelchair rule — Shanghai Airlines' general portable-electronics rule (100 Wh, or 100-160 Wh with airline approval) is a separate allowance and is not applied here.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Regulations on Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries — §9 Wheelchairs powered by lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Battery must be removed

Conditional

Required wherever the design allows: "If the design of the wheelchair allows for it, passengers must remove the battery and bring it on board"; the Chinese wheelchair notice is blunter — 旅客必须卸下电池，并将电池携带入客舱. A detachable non-spillable battery must also be removed, but travels in the HOLD in rigid packaging; a spillable battery must always be removed. Only a battery that genuinely cannot be removed may stay on the chair, securely fastened with the circuit disconnected.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Regulations on Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries — §9 Wheelchairs powered by lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 轮椅旅客服务须知 (Wheelchair passenger service notice, Chinese) — 仅受理东、上航实际承运航班 (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Non-spillable batteriesgel, AGM, sealed lead-acid, dry cell

Conditional

Accepted, but only with the airline's consent — conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(3): "Passengers with limited mobility due to disability or a health condition who bring electric wheelchairs or mobility aids must first obtain consent from Shanghai Airlines." For a 防漏型 (non-spillable) battery the chair must be short-circuit-free with the battery safely mounted; "if the battery can be detached, it must be removed, placed in strong rigid packaging and carried as checked baggage in the cargo hold".

Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 轮椅旅客服务须知 (Wheelchair passenger service notice, Chinese) — 仅受理东、上航实际承运航班 (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Wet / spillable batteries

Conditional

Accepted with the battery removed, but conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(3) requires consent first: "Passengers with limited mobility due to disability or a health condition who bring electric wheelchairs or mobility aids must first obtain consent from Shanghai Airlines", and the batteries of spillable- and non-spillable-battery chairs "must comply with the Dangerous Goods Regulations of the International Air Transport Association". Packing: the 溢漏型 battery is taken off into strong rigid leak-proof packaging with absorbent material.

Terminal protection & immobilisation

Yes

Removed and spare lithium batteries must be individually packaged to prevent damage and short circuit — each in its own protective bag — and carried as hand baggage. A removed non-spillable battery goes into strong rigid packaging ensuring no short circuit; a removed spillable battery into strong rigid leak-proof packaging with absorbent material. A battery left on the chair must be securely fastened with the circuit disconnected per the manufacturer's instructions.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Regulations on Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries — §9 Wheelchairs powered by lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Paperwork the airline wants

Conditional

No battery spec sheet, MSDS or manufacturer label is demanded. A form is: the Application Form for Special Assistance Passengers must be submitted with the 48-hour request to check an electric wheelchair, and two printed copies must be presented at check-in.

Size limit for a powered chair

Not published

No maximum size published for a checked powered chair, and no hold-door or hold-compartment figures. The 33 x 91 x 106 cm figure applies only to a folding chair stowed in the cabin.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Weight limit for a powered chair

Not published

Not published. Shanghai Airlines exempts wheelchairs from the free baggage allowance but states no weight limit for a powered chair, and does not say whether the general per-piece caps (50 kg domestic, 32 kg international) apply to a mobility aid.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Returned at the aircraft door

Not published

Not published. Gate check-in is offered for a passenger's own portable wheelchair, but nothing is published about where a checked electric wheelchair is returned on arrival.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

A powered chair whose battery is removed "shall be regarded as an ordinary wheelchair and can be transported as unrestricted checked baggage or carried into the cabin by the passenger under the prescribed conditions" (conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(3)) — so a folding powered chair with the battery out can in principle qualify for the 33 x 91 x 106 cm cabin allowance.

Manual wheelchairs

Manual chairs accepted

Yes

Conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5: wheelchairs are carried free and outside the baggage allowance, may be brought into the cabin if they meet the requirements, and a passenger's own portable wheelchair may be checked free of charge at the boarding gate or at check-in. The cabin assistive-device table also lists walking aids, walking sticks, folding wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, cochlear implants, white canes and vision aids.

Folding chair may travel in the cabin

Yes

Conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(1): "Wheelchairs meeting the necessary requirements can be brought into the cabin. Only one wheelchair is allowed per flight. It must be a foldable wheelchair for adults or a manually assembled wheelchair", no larger than 33 x 91 x 106 cm. CAUTION — the wheelchair notice contradicts this in its closing points: "As wheelchairs cannot be stored in the passenger cabin, personal wheelchairs must be checked in", while the same page's assistive-device table lists a 折叠轮椅 up to 33 x 91 x 106 cm as a cabin item.

In-cabin stowage limitIn-cabin stowage space

106 cm long · 33 cm wide · 91 cm high

"The dimensions of the wheelchair without wheels or parts removed should not exceed 33 x 91 x 106 cm / 13 x 36 x 42 inches" (conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(1)); the same figure appears in the cabin assistive-device table. Shanghai Airlines prints the three numbers without naming the axes; mapped here smallest-to-width. Equivalent to the US 13 x 36 x 42 in closet rule.

Size limit for a checked manual chair

Not published

No maximum size is published for a CHECKED manual wheelchair. The only size figure Shanghai Airlines publishes, 33 x 91 x 106 cm, is the limit for a folding chair stowed in the cabin — recorded in cabin_stowage_dimensions.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Weight limit for a manual chair

Not published

No wheelchair-specific weight limit is published. Shanghai Airlines' general per-piece checked-baggage caps are 50 kg on domestic routes and 32 kg on international/regional routes (7.3.2.1); the conditions of carriage exempt wheelchairs from the free baggage ALLOWANCE (7.2.3.5, 7.3.3.3) but do not say whether those per-piece caps apply to a mobility aid.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Returned at the aircraft door

Not published

Not published as such. Conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(2) does allow gate CHECK-IN — "Passengers' own portable wheelchairs can be checked in free of charge at the boarding gate or during the check-in process" — but Shanghai Airlines nowhere states where a checked chair is returned on arrival (aircraft door or baggage reclaim).

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

On US routes the same 33 x 91 x 106 cm (13 x 36 x 42 in) folding chair may be stowed on board on the larger aircraft used, one personal wheelchair per flight, first come first served, and it takes priority over other passengers' carry-on items. Shanghai Airlines does not currently operate its own US services, but the standard is published under its and China Eastern's joint wheelchair notice.

Booking & cost

Advance notice requiredhours before scheduled departure

48h

Deadlines are measured from scheduled departure in departure local time: ground wheelchair 24 h, apron wheelchair 24 h, cabin (aisle) wheelchair 48 h, CHECKED ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIR 48 h. Also 48 h for a portable oxygen concentrator, a service dog or a group of more than 10 disabled passengers; 72 h for in-flight medical oxygen; 48 h for a domestic stretcher and 72 h for an international one. Late requests are met only "subject to on-site operational capability".

How to request assistance

A China Eastern ticket office, the 95530 hotline (+86 21 20695530 from abroad) or the ceair.com website / app / mobile site, submitting the Application Form for Special Assistance Passengers

The Application Form for Special Assistance Passengers must be filed with the request and TWO printed copies presented at check-in; be at the airport 120 min before departure. Submitting the form is a request only — "it does not constitute approval"; China Eastern/Shanghai Airlines review it and phone the applicant between 09:00 and 19:00, and if no confirmation arrives within 4 working hours the passenger should resubmit or call 95530.

Charge for carrying the aid

No fee

Shanghai Airlines' conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5: "Wheelchairs are not subject to the baggage allowance and can be transported additionally free of charge", and 7.3.3.3: assistive devices for passengers with disabilities, including but not limited to wheelchairs, do not fall under the baggage allowance and may be transported for free. The wheelchair notice repeats that a personal wheelchair is carried free and does not count toward the free baggage allowance.

Mobility devices carried free

Not published

No per-passenger count is published. What Shanghai Airlines does publish is a per-FLIGHT cabin limit — "only one wheelchair is allowed per flight" in the cabin, first come first served — and a rule that a disabled passenger may check free of charge one assistive device other than those listed for cabin carriage. The number of wheelchairs that may be checked free is not stated.

If they damage your chair

Domestic: RMB 100 per kg for checked baggage (actual value if lower), maximum RMB 3,000 for unchecked baggage. International: the applicable Montreal Convention / Hague Protocol / Warsaw Convention limits.

Shanghai Airlines conditions of carriage 11.3.6. Nothing specific to mobility aids is published — no full-value rule, no waiver form and no declared-value figure for a wheelchair. Where the transport falls outside those conventions, Shanghai Airlines says it will bear liability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

On board

On-board aisle chair

Conditional

"我们的大型飞机上都备有客舱轮椅" — cabin (aisle) wheelchairs are carried on the larger aircraft, designed for the aircraft aisle and usable to reach the lavatory; cabin crew are trained to help with them. They must be requested at least 48 h before departure and provision is "subject to aircraft type and airport resources", with a reply within 24 h. Not every aircraft in the fleet has one.

Accessible lavatory

Conditional

"We have washrooms for persons with disabilities on many of our larger aircraft. However, the availability of this facility depends on the size and structure of the aircraft." A per-aircraft table is published as a downloadable spreadsheet on the wheelchair notice.

Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Crew help you transfer

Conditional

Crew "can assist you with the use of a cabin wheelchair, in storing or retrieving carry-on baggage, introducing food on the plate and unpacking". But "flight attendants cannot feed passengers or help with personal hygiene or the use of the washroom. They cannot lift or move you, or provide medical services" — a passenger who cannot transfer themselves must travel with their own carer. Ground staff assist with boarding, disembarking and transit, and a lifting device is arranged where no jet bridge is used, if available.

Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Seating & movable armrests

Movable aisle armrests on some aircraft types (number and location vary by type, published table); passengers seated next to their companion and offered a seat better suited to their mobility on request

"We provide movable aisle armrests for some aircraft types to make it easier for passengers using cabin wheelchairs to get in and out of their seats. The number and location of seats with movable aisle armrests vary depending on the aircraft type" — a per-aircraft spreadsheet is linked. If the seat armrest is not movable, gate staff and crew will look for another seat. Passengers with limited mobility may be given any eligible seat, or a seat better suited to their needs on request.

Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Fleet detail. No cargo-hold door aperture or hold-compartment dimensions are published. The binding published figure is the in-cabin one: a folding chair no larger than 33 x 91 x 106 cm, one per flight. Cabin (aisle) wheelchairs and accessible washrooms exist only on the larger aircraft, and the wheelchair notice links two downloadable spreadsheets — the seats with movable aisle armrests by aircraft type, and the aircraft fitted with an accessible washroom.

Worth knowing

Shanghai Airlines (FM) has no website of its own — shanghai-air.com does not resolve and shanghaiair.com is an unrelated private domain — so everything here comes from ceair.com, which publishes Shanghai Airlines Company Limited's OWN General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026) as a separate document from China Eastern's, and whose wheelchair notice states that the service applies only to flights actually operated by, and bearing the flight numbers of, China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines. Nothing was imported from China Eastern's own conditions of carriage. CONTRADICTION a human should re-check: the wheelchair notice says "As wheelchairs cannot be stored in the passenger cabin, personal wheelchairs must be checked in", while Shanghai Airlines' conditions of carriage 7.2.3.5(1) and the same notice's assistive-device table both allow a folding chair up to 33 x 91 x 106 cm into the cabin, one per flight. Two further points a traveller should know: (1) Shanghai Airlines publishes NO watt-hour cap for a lithium battery that stays installed, because it requires removal wherever the design allows — the 300 Wh figure is for a removed battery, and if the chair has two batteries neither may exceed 160 Wh; (2) submitting the assistance request is not approval — it is reviewed and can be refused for service limits, seat availability or airport constraints, with an alternative flight offered. Some parts of the English wheelchair notice are untranslated and appear in Chinese (the electric-wheelchair packing rules, the cabin-wheelchair paragraph and the US in-cabin stowage rule); those were read in Chinese and translated here. The general 160 Wh ban on lithium batteries on ceair's lithium-battery page expressly does NOT apply to wheelchairs and was not written into the battery fields.

Sources

Every figure above traces to one of these.

s1 Information for Passengers with Wheelchairs (English) — applies to flights operated by China Eastern Airlines or Shanghai Airlines (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
s2 轮椅旅客服务须知 (Wheelchair passenger service notice, Chinese) — 仅受理东、上航实际承运航班 (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
s3 Shanghai Airlines Company Limited — General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage (January 2026), §7.2.3.5 Wheelchairs (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
s4 Regulations on Safe Transportation of Lithium Batteries — §9 Wheelchairs powered by lithium batteries (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
s5 "China Eastern Airlines、Shanghai Airlines complaint hotline" and complaints e-mail (ceair.com site footer) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
s6 General Conditions for Transportation of Passenger and Baggage by SAL (index page — customer service and baggage service hotlines) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29

Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 4 contacts · 73% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.

Shanghai Airlines

Who to contact

Read it from the source

Powered wheelchairs & batteries

Manual wheelchairs

Booking & cost

On board

Worth knowing

Sources

Record quality