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Home > Air China Transportation Regulations for the Disabled

Air China Transportation Regulations

for the Disabled and Passengers with Reduced Mobility (Revised in September 2023)

 

I.Passengers with a Hearing Impairment

For the sake of safety, passengers under the age of 16 with a hearing impairment cannot travel alone and must be accompanied by an adult who has reached the age of 18 and has full capacity for civil conduct.

To ensure that your travel can go smoothly, we can provide free of charge necessary guidance and assistance services for passengers with hearing disabilities who travel alone. Such services can be booked through our website, APP and hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents. Please arrive at the check-in counter for check-in at the latest 120 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time.

For the sake of safety, passengers with hearing disabilities shall not be seated in in the emergency exit seats of the aircraft.

 

II. Passengers with a Visual Impairment

Passengers with a visual impairment refer to passengers who are totally blind, amblyopic, or suffer from eye conditions and lack full mobility. 

 

For the sake of safety, passengers under the age of 16 who are visually disabled cannot travel alone and must be accompanied by an adult who has reached the age of 18 and has full capacity for civil conduct.

In accordance with CAAC flight safety requirements, only a certain number of eligible passengers with a visual impairment traveling alone may be accepted on each flight. If visually impaired passengers need to travel by air independently, an application shall be made through our website, APP and hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents. We can provide free of charge necessary guidance and assistance services. Please check in at the airport check-in counter no later than 120 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time.

For the sake of safety, passengers under the age of 16 who are visually disabled shall not be seated in the emergency exit seats of the aircraft and upper deck of B747.

 

III. Traveling with a Service Dog in the Cabin

Service dogs refer to special dogs that have been specially trained to provide assistance to the disabled in their life and work, including guide dogs and hearing dogs.

Passengers with hearing disabilities or visual disabilities who travel alone with a service dog should be at least 16 years old. The dogs should wear work shirts and have a leash for the duration of the flight; the dogs shall not occupy a seat and must not be allowed to run freely, so as to ensure that the service dogs do not affect other passengers. Subject to the consent of the relevant passenger, the dogs are not required to wear a muzzle.

You are responsible for taking care of the excretion of the service dog in the cabin and ensuring that it will not affect the hygiene on board.

In accordance with CAAC flight safety requirements, only a specified number of such passengers can be accepted on each aircraft type. To travel with a service dog, please submit a request through our hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents. no later than 48 hours (inclusive) before the scheduled flight departure. Passengers must provide identification as well as valid quarantine and vaccination certificates for service dogs both at the time of booking and when checking in at the airport. Passengers should check in with their service dog at the airport check-in counter no later than 120 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time. 

Where applicable safety requirements permit, the service dog may sit on your lap or occupy the space of your feet, and the service dog must not encroach upon the space of other passengers. For safety reasons, passengers with service dogs shall not sit in the emergency exit seats of the aircraft and the upper deck of the B747.

If your service dog causes personal injury or property damage to us or other passengers, you shall be liable for compensation accordingly.

We may refuse to transport service dogs in any of the following situations:

1. The service dog poses a direct threat to the health or safety of us or other passengers;

2. The service dog causes serious interference in the cabin or the airport boarding gate;

3. Transporting your service dog is in violation of the regulations or requirements of relevant government agencies.

If we refuse to transport a service dog, we will provide a written explanation within 10 days after the refusal upon request.

Passengers are not required to pay any additional fees for the Guide/Hearing Dog Service. If a passenger agrees to check in a service dog, Air China will complete the check-in process for the dog and its container and food in line with the procedures for Pets as Checked Baggage free of charge. The weight of the dog, container and food will not affect the passenger's free baggage allowance. If you are to fly on an international flight, you also need to be aware in advance of the quarantine regulations of the entry and exit and transit countries for service dogs, and ensure compliance with the requirements of the entry and exit and transit countries.

Emotional support animals (including spiritual comfort dogs) are not service animals and are classified as pets. An emotional support animal can be checked subject to what you need and our small animal transportation standards.

 

IV. Passengers with an Intellectual Disability or Mental Disorder

For the sake of safety, Air China may be unable to accept passengers with an intellectual disability or mental disorder for safety reasons if their behavior is deemed a threat to the safety of other passengers or the flight in general. We strongly suggest that passengers with intellectual and mental disabilities travel with a companion. The companion must ensure effectively control over the disabled and assist them to evacuate from the aircraft in an emergency.

In accordance with CAAC flight safety requirements, only a certain number of such passengers can be accepted on each aircraft type. If passengers with an intellectual disabilities or mental disorders need to travel by air independently, applications shall be made at the time of booking through our hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents. We provide necessary guidance and assistance services free of charge. Please arrive at the check-in counter to complete the check-in procedures at the latest 120 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time.

V. Passengers with limited mobility

On the flights operated by Air China, we provide wheelchair services for passengers with limited mobility. The staff will help you transfer from the check-in area to the boarding gate on a wheelchair. You can check in for free, in addition to the free baggage allowance, small aids that need to be used any time during the travel. Please arrive at the check-in counter for check-in at the latest 120 minutes before the scheduled flight departure time.

1. Wheelchair Ramp

We provide free wheelchair ramp services for passengers who can embark and disembark unaided and get into or out of their seats in the cabin on their own, but need wheelchair assistance for mobility the terminal or on the apron. Applications for the service can be made through our website, APP, hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents before 16:00 local time one day before flight departure.

2. Wheelchair Steps

For passengers who are unable to embark and disembark on their own but who can get into or out of their seats independently, we provide free outbound wheelchair steps mobility service from the check-in zone to the cabin door as well as free inbound wheelchair steps service from the cabin door to the terminal where the flight stops.

Applications for the service can be made through our website, APP, hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents before 16:00 local time one day before flight departure.

Passengers with a Level 1 or Level 2 physical disability (unable/mostly unable to complete everyday activities unaided) shall request the service of wheelchair cabin.

•  Wheelchair cabin

On Air China-operated domestic, international, and regional flights that depart or arrive at Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Dalian, Hohhot, Urumqi, and Beijing (Capital Airport), we provide free outbound wheelchai cabin mobility services from the check-in zone to the cabin door for passengers without mobility, as well as inbound wheelchair cabin mobility services from the cabin door to the terminal where the flight stops. We also provide mobility services with narrow wheelchairs onboard.

In accordance with CAAC flight safety requirements, only a specified number of passengers who travel alone but are much less mobile without help can be accepted on each aircraft type. If such passengers need to travel alone, we shall be notified in advance accordingly. Applications for the service can be made through our website, APP, hotlines, ticketing offices and authorized sales agents before 16:00 local time one day before flight departure.

For injured or sick passengers who need wheelchair cabin services due to mobility problems and elderly passengers who need assistance due to physical weaknesses and mobility difficulties, we provide wheelchair cabin services in accordance with the above regulations, subject to limitations on the number of disabled passengers carried.

VI. Restrictions on the number of passengers with disabilities on each aircraft type

According to the "Administrative Measures on Air Transport for the Disabled" by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the restrictions on the number of passengers with disabilities carried by aircraft type are as follows:

 

Aircraft Type

Passengers with on-board wheelchairs

Passengers traveling with a service dog in the cabin

Visually impaired unaccompanied p assengers

Unaccompanied passengers with an intellectual disability or mental disorder

ARJ21

2

B737-700/800/8

4

A319/A320

A321

B747

6

B777-200

B777-300ER

B787

A330/A350

(The above restrictions do not apply to American routes)

 

VII. Special service rules for passengers with disabilities on U.S. routes

1. For the travel of the following types of passenger with disabilities, we should be notified 48 hours before the flight, and only after we agree and make special arrangements can they be accepted for :

A. Passengers who need to use CPAP or POC;

B. Passengers who need to use stretchers;

C. A group of more than 10 qualified disabled persons who make reservations and travel;

D.Passengers who need to travel with a service dog on a flight of more than 8 hours;

E.Passengers who suffer from severe vision and hearing impairment at the same time.

•  Security Assistant

The main responsibility of personal safety assistants is to help disabled passengers leave the aircraft or provide necessary brief safety instructions in the event of emergency evacuation. The following passengers with disabilities should be accompanied by safety assistants during the flight. We will transport passengers with disabilities and their safety assistants in accordance with relevant legal requirements:

A.Stretcher passengers;

B. Passengers with mental disorders who cannot understand or deal with safety issues;

C.Passengers with severe mobility problems who cannot evacuate the aircraft by themselves;

D.Passengers who have severe hearing and vision impairments at the same time who cannot communicate with the flight crew.

 

VIII. Miscellaneous

1. If we refuse to provide air transportation services to the disabled, at the passenger's request, we will provide a written explanation within 10 days after the refusal. Subject to other requirements under the laws and regulations of the country or region involving the flight, we will provide you with a written explanation within the relevant time limit in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

2. If we refuse to provide air transportation services to the disabled, we will help the passengers go through the formalities of voluntary changes or refunds in accordance with paragraphs 3.1.2 and 3.2.2 of Air China General Conditions of Passenger Baggage Transportation.

3. See 6.2.5.12, 6.3.3 and 6.3.4 of Air China General Conditions of Passenger Baggage Transportation for the transportation regulations of electric wheelchairs, portable oxygen concentrators and continuous positive pressure respirators.

 

 
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