wheelair

All airlines Asia Pacific

Thai Airways International

IATA TG ICAO THA Thailand · Star Alliance · www.thaiairways.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.

THAI publishes no dedicated disability/accessibility telephone line or e-mail address; wheelchair requests go through the general Contact Center, a THAI reservation office or the online service-request form. THAI no longer serves the USA, so no DOT Complaints Resolution Official page is published.

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

Battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids are accepted in checked baggage only and are marked "Allowed with approval required" on THAI's dangerous-goods table (carry-on: forbidden). Lithium batteries without UN 38.3 certification "will not be accepted for carriage".

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Lithium-ion batteries
Conditional

Accepted with prior THAI approval; "the lithium batteries must be of a type which meets the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3" and "lithium batteries for mobility aids without UN38.3 certification will not be accepted for carriage".

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

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

THAI publishes a watt-hour figure only for a battery "specifically designed to be removed". No cap — and no statement that there is no cap — is published for a battery that stays installed in the chair.

Watt-hour cap — battery removed into the cabin
300 Wh

"…where the battery is specifically designed to be removed, the battery must be carried in the cabin with a watt-hour rating not exceeding 300 Wh."

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Watt-hour cap — spare battery
300 Wh

"…could carry one spare lithium-ion battery not exceeding 300 Wh or two spare batteries each not exceeding 160 Wh." 300 Wh is the ceiling for a single spare.

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Spare batteries permittedmaximum number under any published configuration
2

Maximum count: one spare of up to 300 Wh OR two spares of up to 160 Wh each, carried in the cabin. Taking two spares therefore caps each at 160 Wh.

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Battery must be removed
Conditional

Removal is required only where the battery is "specifically designed to be removed" — it must then travel in the cabin (≤300 Wh). THAI publishes no removal rule for non-removable designs.

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

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

"Mobility aids with waterproof battery … with non-spillable wet batteries or with batteries which comply with IATA DGR Special Provision A123 or A199" (AGM, gel, sealed lead-acid, dry cell, alkali-manganese, zinc-carbon, Ni-Cd, Ni-MH) — "Checked Baggage: Allowed with approval required; Carry-on Baggage: Forbidden."

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Wet / spillable batteries
Conditional

"Battery-powered wheelchairs or other similar mobility devices with spillable batteries or with lithium ion batteries — Checked Baggage: Allowed with approval required; Carry-on Baggage: Forbidden."

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Terminal protection & immobilisation
Not published

THAI's mobility-aid entries do not state a terminal-insulation or circuit-inhibition requirement. (Its separate spare/non-spillable PED rules do require terminal insulation, but those are not written as wheelchair rules.)

Paperwork the airline wants
Yes

"Proof that the batteries meet the requirements [UN 38.3] may be requested at both reservation and check-in."

Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Size limit for a powered chair
Not published

No maximum powered-wheelchair dimensions published; THAI asks for the measurements at booking.

Weight limit for a powered chair
32 kg

Same threshold as for manual chairs: over 32 kg (71 lb) needs special authorisation from THAI because of weight and space restrictions at some airports; it is a pre-approval trigger, not a published refusal limit.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Returned at the aircraft door
No

THAI's wheelchair page says a personal wheelchair is loaded into the hold and returned "at the baggage hall of your destination airport"; no aircraft-door delivery is offered.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Self-balancing personal transportation devices (hoverboards, e-skateboards and similar) are forbidden in both checked and carry-on baggage; they are listed separately from mobility aids.

Manual wheelchairs

Manual chairs accepted
Yes

Personal wheelchairs are accepted: THAI asks for measurements and weight at booking "in order to load your wheelchair into the aircraft hold and return it to you at the baggage hall of your destination airport".

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Folding chair may travel in the cabin
Not published

THAI does not say whether a folding manual wheelchair may be stowed in the cabin. (Its dangerous-goods page marks battery-powered mobility aids 'Carry-on Baggage: Forbidden', but says nothing about manual chairs.)

In-cabin stowage limit
Not published

No in-cabin stowage dimensions published.

Size limit for a checked manual chair
Not published

THAI asks for the chair's measurements at booking but publishes no maximum size.

Weight limit for a manual chair
32 kg

Not an outright refusal limit: "If your wheelchair weighs over 32 kilograms (71 lbs.), special authorization from THAI is needed, due to weight and space restrictions at some airports."

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Returned at the aircraft door
No

THAI states the chair is loaded into the hold and returned "to you at the baggage hall of your destination airport" — no gate/aircraft-door return is offered on the page.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Cabin crew will move a passenger between the wheelchair and the seat and to the lavatory door, but cannot assist inside the lavatory; passengers who cannot manage their personal needs in flight are urged to travel with a companion.

Booking & cost

Advance notice requiredhours before scheduled departure
48h

"Passengers must request wheelchairs at the time of booking or at least 48 hours before departure date, if a wheelchair is required." The Thai-language page repeats the 48-hour deadline.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

How to request assistance
Ask at the time of booking, or at least 48 h before departure, via the online 'Request for Wheelchair Service' form or a THAI reservation office; give the chair's size and weight when booking

"If a passenger has their own wheelchair, the size of personal wheelchair measurements and weight must be informed when booking." Electric wheelchair / mobility-aid users are told to see the dangerous-goods page or contact a THAI reservation office.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Charge for carrying the aid
No fee

"THAI provides Wheelchair Service at no additional charge."

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Mobility devices carried free
Not published

THAI does not publish how many mobility devices are carried free per passenger.

If they damage your chair
Not published

THAI publishes nothing about liability for damage to mobility aids on its wheelchair or dangerous-goods pages.

On board

On-board aisle chair
Yes

"THAI provides wheelchairs on board the aircraft enabling cabin crew to assist passengers when needed to the lavatory." No aircraft-type exceptions are listed.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Accessible lavatory
Not published

THAI does not describe accessible lavatories; it states only that cabin crew "cannot assist the passenger inside the lavatory".

Crew help you transfer
Yes

"THAI will assist wheelchair passengers from wheelchair to seat, as well as to the aircraft's lavatories." Staff assist from the check-in counter to the aircraft door or cabin seat, and on arrival through the baggage/arrival area.

Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29  บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29

Seating & movable armrests
Not published

No movable-armrest or bulkhead seating policy is published on the wheelchair page.

Worth knowing

Read both the English and the Thai (th-th) wheelchair page; the Thai text is a straight translation and adds nothing. The battery rules are NOT on the accessibility page — they are in the 'Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids' block of the Dangerous Goods page, which also marks every powered mobility aid 'approval required' for the hold and 'forbidden' in the cabin. Passengers must be able to care for themselves in flight; cabin crew help to the lavatory door only. Chairs over 32 kg need THAI authorisation. THAI no longer flies to the USA, so there is no DOT CRO/disability page.

Sources

Every figure above traces to one of these.

  1. s1 Wheelchair — Special Assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  2. s2 Dangerous Goods — restricted items in baggage (Battery powered wheelchairs & Mobility aids) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  3. s3 Contact — THAI telephone numbers and e-mail addresses (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  4. s4 Seamless Travel Support with THAI Global Call Center (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  5. s5 บริการเก้าอี้รถเข็น — Wheelchair (Thai-language page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
  6. s6 Contact Us — Special Service Request & Assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29

Record quality

Record status researched · confidence high · 6 official sources · 15 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.