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Virgin Australia
Powered chairs need the airline’s prior approval · carried free · 72 h notice.
- Advance notice
- 72hours 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.
- PhoneAustralia — Specific Assistance Team / Specific Assistance department
- PhoneOutside Australia — Specific Assistance Team
- PhoneAustralia — Guest Contact Centre (used for oversize/overweight mobility aids and bookings inside 24 hours) 13 67 89"during busy periods, wait times may be longer"
- PhoneNew Zealand — Guest Contact Centre
- PhoneUnited States of America — Guest Contact Centre
- PhoneUnited Kingdom — Guest Contact Centre
- PhoneAll other locations — Guest Contact Centre
- PhoneBaggage Contact Centre (damaged/delayed/lost baggage) — Australia toll freeNew Zealand 0800 443 744, USA 1833 301 7565, all other countries +61 7 3295 2257
- EmailDangerous goods enquiries (including mobility-aid batteries) — Guest Contact Centre
- Online form
- Online form
- Relay / textAustralia 133 677; from outside Australia +61 7 3815 7799. "Ask to be connected to Virgin Australia on 13 67 89."TTY users
- Relay / textAustralia 1300 555 727; from outside Australia +61 7 3815 7799. "Ask to be connected to Virgin Australia on 13 67 89."Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay)
- Relay / text"Connect to the National Relay Service (see relayservice.com.au). Ask to be connected to Virgin Australia on 13 67 89."Internet relay (Australian residents only)
- Relay / textCall one of the FedRelay numbers then ask to be connected to Virgin Australia on +61 7 3295 3941: (800) 877-8339 TTY/ASCII, (877) 877-6280 VCO, (877) 877-8982 Speech-to-Speech, (800) 845-6136 Spanish, (800) 877-0996 Customer Service (Voice/TTY, ASCII and Spanish), (866) 377-8642 Voice, (866) 893-8340 TeleBraille.USA — FedRelay services
Virgin Australia's Guest Accessibility Plan is its Australian Disability Access Facilitation Plan equivalent and carries the relay/TTY numbers, which do not appear on the live web pages. The published services cover flights operated by Virgin Australia and by Link Airways and Alliance Airlines on Virgin Australia's behalf. Trained Complaints Resolution Officials are available at all Virgin Australia international airports and through the Guest Contact 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.
Accepted, but under material conditions: "evidence that the battery meets the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3 requirements may be requested prior to the acceptance of the lithium battery"; an aid over the per-aircraft size or weight limit needs the Guest Contact Centre called at least 72 hours ahead; and carriage is assessed flight by flight — "where Virgin Australia is unable to accommodate your needs or your accompanying equipment, we will offer an alternative Virgin Australia flight". All electric aids must travel upright in 'free wheel' mode.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"A lithium battery (includes polymer, Li-Po and Li-ion) which must meet the requirements of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3. Evidence that the battery meets the... requirements may be requested prior to the acceptance of the lithium battery." The general batteries page bans lithium-ion over 160 Wh but states "Electric Wheelchair/Mobility Device exemptions apply".
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Batteries (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No watt-hour ceiling is published for a lithium battery that stays in the mobility aid. VA's 300 Wh figure is stated only for batteries "removed from the mobility aid (e.g. wheelchair) for transport". A battery left installed must be securely attached, its terminals protected from short circuit and the electrical circuits isolated/inhibited per the manufacturer's instructions.
"Lithium-ion batteries removed from the mobility aid (e.g. wheelchair) for transport must not exceed 300 Wh (watt-hours)." The removed battery must be placed in a protective pouch and carried in the cabin.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"One spare battery not more than 300 Wh, or two batteries, not more than 160 Wh each, are also permitted. The removed and/or spare batteries and terminals must be protected from short circuit and damage by placing each battery in a protective pouch and carried in the cabin."
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Maximum count is two: "One spare battery not more than 300 Wh, or two batteries, not more than 160 Wh each" — two spares only if each is 160 Wh or less; spares travel in the cabin. For non-lithium aids: "One spare non-spillable battery or two spare dry mobility aid batteries suitably packaged is also permitted", loaded in the cargo compartment with the aid.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Removal is required only in defined cases: "the battery and container must be securely attached to the mobility aid unless the batteries are required to be removed for air transport", and "where a battery is not adequately protected by the mobility aid design or must be removed to allow the device to be folded or otherwise prepared for air transport, it must be done in accordance with the instruction of the manufacturer". Removed lithium batteries must be carried in the cabin; removed non-spillable/dry batteries travel in the hold with the aid.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Non-spillable types such as Sealed Lead Acid (SLA), Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) and Gel batteries, which must not contain free or unabsorbed liquid" are permitted, as are "dry type batteries such as alkali-manganese, zinc-carbon, nickel-cadmium (NiCad) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)". If removed they must be "carried in strong, rigid packaging provided by the user" and loaded in the cargo compartment with the aid.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Spillable batteries" appear on VA's list of "Dangerous goods that are not permitted" — "the following items must not be taken on board a Virgin Australia aircraft under any circumstance". They are also absent from the closed list of "battery types permitted in mobility aids which we accept on Virgin Australia Group aircraft" (non-spillable SLA/AGM/gel, dry type, and UN 38.3 lithium).
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Dangerous goods (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"The battery terminals must be protected from short circuit. This may be achieved by enclosing the battery within a non-conductive battery container/case/transport box as part of or separate to the device." The electrical circuits must also be isolated/inhibited following the manufacturer's instructions "that is, the mobility aid cannot be accidentally turned on and moved by operating the controls". Damaged, distorted, leaking, corroded, modified or recalled batteries are not permitted.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Evidence that the battery meets the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3 requirements may be requested prior to the acceptance of the lithium battery." "To assist with the correct carriage of your mobility device, it is recommended to carry a copy of the operator's manual." The downloadable Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information form asks for the lithium battery's watt-hours and whether the battery is left in the equipment.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information form (PDF) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Same "maximum wheelchair size and weight allowed on board by aircraft type" table: binding figures across the fleet are 65 cm high (F70, F100), 74 cm wide (E190) and 125 cm long (all). "If your mobility aid is greater than the size restrictions specified (in either a folded or unfolded state), we may be unable to carry the item and you may need to travel with an alternative mobility aid (such as a manual wheelchair) that meets the below-mentioned dimensions."
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information form (PDF) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Same per-aircraft table as manual chairs: 80 kg on the A320, E190 and F100; 120 kg on the B737, F70 and Saab 340B. Above the limit, call the Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 at least 72 hours before travel. Separately, guests over 130 kg who need a transfer must travel with a carer.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
For battery-powered aids: "At your destination, your mobility aid can be collected from the arrivals carousel or if applicable at an international port, it will be provided at the arrivals door." Domestically the arrivals-gate return is limited to manual chairs that went through security screening on departure, so a motorised chair is normally returned at the carousel.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"All electric mobility aids must travel in an upright position and in the 'free wheel' mode." Virgin Australia limits how many guests requiring wheelchair assistance it carries per flight, weighing hold space, airport access limitations, the level of assistance needed by everyone already booked, and the nature of each chair; if it cannot accommodate you it will offer an alternative Virgin Australia flight.
Manual wheelchairs
"You can either check in your manual wheelchair or self-propelled wheelchair for use within the airport – and we will provide you with an airport aisle wheelchair – or you can choose to take your own manual wheelchair to the boarding gate (where possible). Your wheelchair will then be stowed in the aircraft hold." Walker frames, 2/3/4-wheeler frames, Zimmer frames and knee scooters are also accepted.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Not published. VA describes only hold carriage — a manual chair taken to the gate "will then be stowed in the aircraft hold" — and publishes no in-cabin wheelchair stowage rule or closet dimension.
No in-cabin stowage dimensions for a wheelchair are published.
Smallest figures from VA's "maximum wheelchair size and weight allowed on board by aircraft type": height 65 cm (F70, F100), width 74 cm (E190), length 125 cm (all types). Full table: A320 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 80 kg; B737 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg; E190 80 x 74 x 125 cm / 80 kg; F70 65 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg; F100 65 x 100 x 125 cm / 80 kg; Saab 340B 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg. The limits may be met by folding, collapsing or modifying the device.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information form (PDF) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Smallest figure in VA's per-aircraft "maximum wheelchair size and weight allowed on board" table: 80 kg on the A320, E190 and F100; 120 kg on the B737, F70 and Saab 340B. "If your mobility aid exceeds the maximum weight limit, please contact the Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 at least 72 hours prior to your proposed travel date."
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Due to security restrictions, only wheelchairs/mobility aids that have been taken through security screening on departure can be returned at the arrivals gate at your destination, otherwise you can collect your wheelchair at the arrivals carousel. This option is for manual (non-motorised) wheelchairs only." Restated as "Important (domestic only)" in the arrivals section.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"Please note that Virgin Australia staff are unable to help with dismantling or reassembling mobility aids." Check in at least 60 minutes before a domestic flight and 2 hours before an international flight. VA publishes a one-page "Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information" form to complete, laminate and attach to the chair, recording weight fully assembled, heaviest piece if disassembled, dimensions, battery type and Wh, whether it is key operated, and which parts fold or are removable.
Booking & cost
72 hours is the strictest published deadline: "If your mobility aid exceeds the maximum dimensions or weight limit, please contact the Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 at least 72 hours prior to your proposed travel date to discuss your options." A carer/safety assistant's name must also be confirmed at least 72 hours before departure. Otherwise VA asks for notice "as soon as possible" at booking; support devices should be notified at least 24 hours before departure, and if you are flying within 24 hours you must book through the Guest Contact Centre.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
"If booking mobility assistance online please ensure you complete the Specific Service Assistance Request form." Guests flying within the next 24 hours "must book via our Guest Contact Centre where your booking will be made at no additional cost". VA asks at booking for: whether you travel alone or with a carer, whether you can self-transfer, the type of mobility aid, the battery type, whether it is collapsible, and its dimensions and weight.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Live Checked baggage page: "Wheelchair/mobility aids are always carried free of charge when they're for personal use by a guest booked to travel with us." The Guest Accessibility Plan adds they are carried "free of charge and in addition to the guest's checked baggage allowance". For guests with specific needs who cannot book online, "the standard fee to book through the Guest Contact Centre will be waived and internet specials will be honoured". No third-party airport lift/handling charge is mentioned by VA.
Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Checked baggage — oversized baggage / free carriage of wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No number is published. VA says only that "wheelchairs, mobility devices and assistive devices are carried free of charge and in addition to the guest's checked baggage allowance", subject to "operational capacity considerations relative to the number of guests requiring wheelchair assistance and their devices that Virgin Australia may carry on each flight".
"If your wheelchair or mobility device has not arrived at your destination with you, or arrived in a condition unable to be used for its intended purpose, please advise our Baggage Services Team immediately. We will provide assistance in sourcing alternative equipment until your device can be returned to you or repaired as required." Generally, damage "should be reported... within the baggage reclaim area at the airport", otherwise "in writing... within the required time limits" on a completed baggage claim form. VA is a 14 CFR Part 382 'foreign carrier'; no compensation figure published.
Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Travel to and from the USA — US DoT 14 CFR Part 382 and Complaints Resolution Officials (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Contact us — Guest Contact Centre and international numbers (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
On board
"Virgin Australia have equipped and stowed an onboard wheelchair on all our aircraft across the fleet. Cabin crew can assist with escorting you to and from the aircraft seat and the aircraft toilet door."
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
No accessible-lavatory specification is published. VA states only that cabin crew can escort you to the toilet door with the onboard wheelchair and "is unable to provide assistance with the transfer from onboard wheelchair to the aircraft toilet as well as assisting guest's toileting requirements" — a carer is required if you cannot manage this.
Staff transfer guests only with approved equipment: "we are unable to perform transfers other than in accordance with our slide board and slide sheet, manual transfer sling or Eagle lift methods". Weight limit: "If you weigh more than 130kgs and require assistance with transfers you will need to arrange a Carer for travel on domestic and international flights." Eagle hoists are at Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island and Cairns; availability is not guaranteed.
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Guests needing full assistance may pick their own seat or "will be accommodated in rows that are easily accessible from the aircraft door, and provide the facility of adjustable armrests to assist with the transfer processes" — "generally on the right-hand side of the aircraft, in the aisle seat of the forward most rows". A carer/safety assistant is seated with the guest. "Guests travelling with mobility impairments are unable to be seated in the emergency exit rows." (The plan's rear-door seating line applies only to "our smaller ATR aircrafts".) Harnesses are "capped at two per aircraft".
Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29 Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · read 2026-07-29
Fleet detail. Virgin Australia publishes a stated "maximum wheelchair size and weight allowed on board by aircraft type" rather than hold apertures: A320 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 80 kg; B737 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg; E190 80 x 74 x 125 cm / 80 kg; F70 65 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg; F100 65 x 100 x 125 cm / 80 kg; Saab 340B 84 x 100 x 125 cm / 120 kg (height x width x length). The Fokkers F70/F100 are the height-limiting types at 65 cm and the Embraer E190 the width-limiting type at 74 cm; VA does not publish which of these types it operates itself and which are flown by Link Airways or Alliance Airlines on its behalf. The Guest Accessibility Plan PDF — still the currently linked plan, but a 2018-titled file — carries an older, conflicting table (A330/777/737 84/100/125, ATR 72 84/70/90, A320 65/89/125, F70/F100 65/100/125) covering aircraft absent from the live page; where they disagree the live Mobility assistance page governs.
Worth knowing
Virgin Australia publishes both a detailed live Mobility assistance page and a Guest Accessibility Plan PDF (Australia's Disability Access Facilitation Plan equivalent), and the two do not agree. CONTRADICTION a human should re-check: the live page's maximum wheelchair table (A320 84/100/125 cm 80 kg, B737 84/100/125 cm 120 kg, E190 80/74/125 cm 80 kg, F70 65/100/125 cm 120 kg, F100 65/100/125 cm 80 kg, Saab 340B 84/100/125 cm 120 kg) differs from the PDF's older table (which lists A330/777/737, ATR 72, A320 at 65 cm high, and F70/F100, and carries no weights); the downloadable wheelchair information form matches the live page, so the live page was used here. Re-checked 2026-07-29: the 2018-titled PDF is still the ONLY Guest Accessibility Plan Virgin Australia publishes — both the AU and EU "Specific needs and assistance" pages link to guest-accessibility-plan-2018.pdf and no newer Disability Access Facilitation Plan exists at any probed path — so it is stale in places (its aircraft table, its ATR references) but not superseded by a newer document. The PDF is also the only place VA publishes its TTY (133 677), Speak and Listen (1300 555 727) and internet relay channels, and the Disability Assistance Concession — a 50% discount on the base fare for a Personal Carer or Safety Assistant that VA requires you to travel with, on domestic travel. The battery rules are strong and specific: 300 Wh for a lithium battery removed into the cabin, one 300 Wh spare or two 160 Wh spares, UN 38.3 evidence potentially demanded before acceptance, and no watt-hour cap stated for a battery left installed. Spillable/wet batteries are absent from VA's list of permitted mobility-aid battery types. Real limits for a traveller: transfers are only performed with VA's own slide board/sling/Eagle methods and only up to 130 kg guest weight, motorised chairs are normally returned at the arrivals carousel rather than the aircraft door on domestic flights, and VA caps the number of wheelchair-assistance guests per flight and may move you to another flight. Published services cover flights operated by Virgin Australia and by Link Airways and Alliance Airlines on its behalf.
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these.
- s1 Mobility assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s2 Specific needs and assistance (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s3 Guest Accessibility Plan (PDF, document titled guest-accessibility-plan-2018; currently linked from the live Specific needs and assistance page) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s4 Travel to and from the USA — US DoT 14 CFR Part 382 and Complaints Resolution Officials (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s5 Dangerous goods (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s6 Batteries (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s7 Contact us — Guest Contact Centre and international numbers (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s8 Guest wheelchair/mobility aid information form (PDF) (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
- s9 Checked baggage — oversized baggage / free carriage of wheelchairs and mobility aids (opens in a new tab) · official · read 2026-07-29
Record quality
Record status researched · confidence high · 9 official sources · 15 contacts · 87% of the fields this reference tracks are answered. Newest source read 29 July 2026, the day before this page was built. What these mean.