Before you fly
Travel safely and comfortably through the airport and on your flight with extra help from our special assistance and medical services.
If you need some help along your journey, we’ll make sure you’re safe and comfortable all the way. Let us know the type of assistance you need at the airport and during your flight. You can tell us when you book, or at least 48 hours before you travel. There’s a list of our local numbers here. Otherwise you can ask your travel agent to make the arrangements.
If you are deaf or hearing impaired and require special assistance during your journey with us, please let us know at the time of booking. If you booked your flight on emirates.com or with another online booking agency, please contact your local Emirates office after booking to advise us of your requirements.
In the USA and Canada, you may contact us on our TTY number (see below).
We have monitors that display flight information for all our passengers, and most gate areas have electronic displays that indicate specific flight information. Our gate agents will provide verbal flight information, including boarding announcements and notice of any flight delay or gate changes. Please inform our check-in agent if you are deaf or hearing impaired so that we can provide special assistance to you in the event your flight is delayed or if the departure gate is changed after you have checked in.
Closed Captioning, the technology that shows actors' dialog as well as referencing sound effects on a movie, is available in English on ice equipped aircraft only. We typically offer about 30 new-release movies with closed captioning each month.
To explore specific services and amenities available on your next trip with Emirates, please use service finder.
If you are blind or visually impaired and require guidance assistance or directions upon arrival at the airport, or any other special assistance during your journey with us, please let us know at the time of booking. If you have booked your flight on emirates.com or with another online booking agency, please contact your local Emirates office after booking to advise us of your requirements.
A Meet and Assist Service is available to guide you to and from the aircraft gate, or if you prefer, you may make use of wheelchair assistance. At your request, we can also provide you with flight connection and transfer assistance.
Wheelchairs are available at all airport locations, and we can assist you with transportation from the terminal entrance (or a vehicle drop-off point adjacent to the entrance) to the boarding gate, transportation to make connections, and transportation from the aircraft to the terminal entrance (or a vehicle pick-up point adjacent to the entrance) at your destination.
Passengers with special needs will be provided with preboarding assistance upon request, allowing the opportunity to be seated prior to general boarding.
Onboard wheelchair
Onboard wheelchairs designed to fit in the aisle of our aircraft are available on all Emirates flights to assist nonambulatory passengers in moving to and from the aircraft lavatory.
Stowage of carry-on items
Assistance with stowing and retrieval of carry-on items and small assistive devices carried on board the aircraft is furnished upon request.
Aisle seats with movable armrests
We provide aisle seats with movable armrests so passengers who use wheelchairs to board the aircraft can more easily transfer into their seats. The number and locations of aisle seats with movable armrests may vary by aircraft type. You may select a seat with a movable armrest through your reservations agent or, where available, during online check-in using the seat map for your flight on emirates.com. However please note that due to safety regulations, you won’t be allocated an exit-row seat.
Emirates can provide onboard therapeutic oxygen, subject to availability. Please complete a Medical Information Form to let us know of the flow rate you need, in liters per minute, at least 48 hours before your flight departs. There is no charge for this service.
GCAA approved portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) are permitted on board for use during your flight and do not count towards your carry-on baggage limit.
List of GCAA Approved POC Devices:
In accordance with UAE GO-CAA regulations, if you wish to use a POC on board your flight you must submit to an Emirates reservations agent a physician’s statement in English or with an English translation (at least 48 hours prior to travel) that:
You must bring the physician’s statement with you on the day of travel and report to the check-in desk one hour in advance of scheduled check-in time.
You are responsible for traveling with a sufficient supply of batteries to last the entire journey (including transit and unexpected delays). POCs may not be used when seated at an exit row or bulkhead seat.
You will not be able to use other POCs on board, but they will be permitted as carry-on or checked baggage under the following conditions:
CPAP/PAP devices are permitted on board for use during your flight, and do not count towards your carry-on baggage limit. Please ensure that this does not exceed the size or weight for approved stowage of cabin baggage.
In accordance with UAE General Civil Aviation Authority regulations, customers who wish to use their CPAP/PAP device on board, may do so without prior approval*.
We no longer require a notification or a medical verification statement if you wish to carry and use your CPAP/PAP device in the aircraft cabin. You can either mention this to our team when you book your flight or we will add as a note to your booking at the airport.
You are responsible for traveling with a sufficient supply of batteries to last the entire journey, including transit and unexpected delays.
While the device may be plugged into the aircraft’ in-seat plug, the power specifications may vary on different aircraft. There is no guarantee that the power supply will be available throughout the journey.
The in-seat power may not be available during take-off and landing of an aircraft.
When in use, the device must not obstruct access to a seat row or block an aisle. When not in use the device must be stowed in an approved stowage location, so it does not block the aisle or entryway into the row. Batteries for CPAP/PAP machines carried on board the aircraft in carry-on baggage must be preserved from short circuit, and should be packaged in a manner that protects them from physical damage. Batteries protected from short circuit include
If CPAP/PAP devices are carried as carry-on baggage but are not intended to be used during the flight, the batteries must be removed and packaged separately, unless the device contains at least two effective protective features to prevent accidental operation during transport.
*If you have additional medical requests, please continue to complete the Physician’s statement (Opens a PDF in a new tab) along with the MEDIF Form (Medical Information for Fitness to Travel or Special Assistance) and send it to medaattachments@emirates.com(Opens your email client) no later than 48 hours before your flight’s departure time.
For safety reasons, you will need to travel with an escort or attendant if you:
Flight attendants are not permitted to assist with feeding or personal hygiene and lavatory functions. They cannot lift or carry you, and they cannot provide medical services such as giving injections. If your medical condition requires others to provide this type of care, you should travel with a ticketed attendant or escort who can see to these needs during the flight.
In accordance with United Arab Emirates Federal Government regulations, all animals must enter the UAE as manifested cargo. An exception is made for guide dogs for the blind (seeing-eye dogs), which may travel free of charge in the aircraft cabin on direct Emirates flights from European Union member states to Dubai or to or from Dubai to the US and Canada.
Emirates requires at least 48 hours advance notice that a passenger with a disability intends to travel with a guide dog in the cabin so that arrangements can be made to receive the animal in the passenger terminal at Dubai Airport.
A guide dog may be seated with the passenger in the aircraft cabin if the animal can be accommodated without obstructing the main cabin aisle or emergency exit row. Due to safety regulations, passengers traveling with guide dogs won’t be allocated exit-row seats.
All other service dogs will be accepted for travel free of charge as manifested cargo, provided that the passenger provides credible evidence that the animal is a service dog and is in possession of the requisite health and other entry/exit permits required for the animal to travel into the UAE, the USA, or Canada. Further information on animal import/export permit requirements for the United Arab Emirates may be found at http://moew.gov.ae/Portal/en/our-services/services-for-individuals.aspx (Opens an external website in a new tab)
Emirates has employees at departure point airports in the United States, Milan (MXP), Athens, and Dubai who are trained as complaint resolution officials (CROs) and are available during operating hours. Our CROs are trained to handle special needs requests and are aware of disability regulations for air travel to and from the US. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our services, please ask to speak to a CRO. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction by a CRO, you may refer it to the US Department of Transportation by any of the following means:
By telephone: Toll-Free Hotline for Air Travelers with Disabilities
1-800-778-4838 (voice)
1-800-455-9880 (TTY)
By telephone: Aviation Consumer Protection Division
202-366-2220 (voice)
202-366-0511 (TTY)
By mail: Air Consumer Protection Division
C-75, US Dept. of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.
West Building, Room W96-432
Washington, DC 20590
The United States Department of Transportation's Final Rule on Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel applies to Emirates flights operating to and from the United States of America.
You can obtain a copy of this regulation in an accessible format at http://transportation.gov/airconsumer/disability (Opens an external website in a new tab)