We provide special services to our passengers who are visually and hearing impaired. Passengers who are blind or who have severely impaired vision may be accepted without a medical certificate. Unaccompanied blind passengers will be escorted to/from the aircraft. It is important that customers who are temporarily visually impaired seek medical approval prior to travel. Unaccompanied hearing-impaired passengers will be given all the assistance required during checking and boarding. 

How can I request assistance?

Let us know the type of assistance you need at least 72 hours before your flight. Please contact our 24/7 Reservation team at [email protected].  

Other conditions: 

“Guide dogs” are not permitted in the aircraft cabin. Passengers wishing to travel with a guide dog should arrange for it to be carried in the hold.

You may have to travel with a companion for your safety. The travel companion’s role will be to assist you in the case of an emergency, particularly in the case of aircraft evacuation.

You might not require a travel companion, if you are able to do all the following on your own:

• Open your safety belt
• Get and put on your life-jacket
• Put on your oxygen mask without help
• Understand and apply safety instructions
• Eat and drink by yourself
• Take or administer medication
• Help yourself in the restroom

It is mandatory that the passenger travels with a companion, if:

• the passenger has a severe mental disability that prevents him or her from understanding and applying safety instructions. 

• the passenger is both blind and deaf, thereby preventing the possibility of communication with the crew.

• the passenger has a motor-based disability that physically prevents him or her from participating in an evacuation.

Note: A travel companion is mandatory for most paraplegics and quadriplegics, in case the passenger needs help on board and is not self-reliant

A travel companion must meet the following requirements:

• he or she must be an able-bodied person.

• he or she must be over the age of 18.

• he or she must be familiar with the passenger’s reduced mobility condition & requirements.

• he or she must not be taking care of a disabled or reduced-mobility passenger while also taking care of a child under the age of 12 or another disabled or reduced-mobility passenger.

We believe that a disabled or reduced-mobility child can travel alone as an unaccompanied child under certain conditions:

• he or she is physically capable of participating in an aircraft evacuation,

• he or she is able to understand and apply safety instructions.

• he/she can eat and drink on his or her own,  

• he/she doesn’t need medication or assistance with restroom. 

It is important that to ascertain whether the child needs a travel companion.

Medical clearance delivered by Air Mauritius is mandatory only if you require help with eating, drinking, taking or administering medication, restroom assistance, or other personal assistance. It is important to ascertain the kind of assistance you will require at the airport and on board while you are making your reservations

If you would like us to provide a wheelchair, please notify us at the time of booking, or at least 72  hours prior to your flight, of any special assistance you would like us to provide before, during, or after your flight to ensure that we can assist you in the best way possible. 

Depending on your needs, we can arrange the following:

• Passengers who are unable to walk long distances but can use stairs and walk to seat. Please use code WCHR at the time of booking.

• Passengers who are unable to walk long distances or use stairs but can walk to seat. Please use code WCHS at the time of booking.

• Passengers who are immobile (WCHC). Please note that we require passengers who are completely immobile to be accompanied by an able-bodied person capable of assisting them with their physiological needs during the flight.

In this case, a Medical Certificate of Fitness for Air Travel (MEDIF) ) must be filled in by your attending physician and signed by the airline doctor.

For any queries or further information regarding wheelchair assistance, please contact us via our Call Centre and offices. Please note that it is only with due notice that we can make the necessary arrangements.

We will transport your wheelchair or personal mobility device (manual or electric) at no extra cost. Should you travel with oversized or heavy devices it may be necessary to make prior arrangements with airport authorities. Please provide us with all your requirements at the time of booking but no later than 72 hours before your flight. 

If you’re using your own manual or electric wheelchair or another assistive device such as a cane, crutches, walker or mobility scooter, please let us know at least 72 hours before your departure. Note that your wheelchair or personal mobility devices will be transported as checked luggage. 

If your wheelchair is manual:

In most airports, you can keep it with you up to the aircraft opening or boarding gate if access to the aircraft is not directly via a walkway. Your manual wheelchair may also be delivered to you as soon as you exit the aircraft. If you have a long waiting time for your connecting flight, you can reclaim your wheelchair. In other cases, you will receive assistance during your stopover. 

If you have specific needs for assistance, please indicate them during booking. We also ask that you please specify the type of wheelchair, its dimensions, its weight, as well as whether it is foldable. This will help us prepare for its transport in the best possible conditions. 

If your wheelchair is electric:

Regardless of the kind of electric wheelchair, as a general rule, you must check it in as baggage. You will not be able to reclaim it during a long stopover nor upon exiting the aircraft. You will have to collect your electric wheelchair at baggage delivery point. 

In addition, we strongly recommend that you make your electric wheelchair transport request no less than 72 hours before your flight. If you do not pre-notify, transportation may be declined if your wheelchair’s battery type does not allow for safe transport.

Read carefully the section on items allowed in checked baggage but prohibited in hand baggage for more information on how to pack and carry wheelchair batteries.

For your safety, we advise you to follow the listed guidelines when transporting battery-powered wheelchairs: 

• All battery-powered wheelchairs or other battery–powered mobility devices with batteries must be secured in an upright position.
• The battery must be disconnected, the battery terminals insulated to prevent accidental short circuits and the battery securely attached to the wheelchair or mobility aid. 
• Wheelchairs/mobility aids with gels type batteries do not require the battery to be disconnected provided the battery terminals are insulated to prevent accidental short circuits.
• Wheelchairs powered by spillable batteries may be accepted provided that they are correctly handled, loaded and secured in an upright position.

If the above provisions cannot be met, the spillable battery must be removed from the wheelchair and may only be accepted under the conditions detailed in the current issue of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. 

For information on baggage allowance, please click here.

Information on carriage of medical equipment onboard

In addition to your wheelchair, we also transport the following:

• Devices for supporting limbs, etc.

• Any other specialised equipment to support mobility of passengers.

For your convenience, please ensure you check in at the airport check-in counter or via our self-service kiosks. Please arrive at least two hours before the scheduled departure time of your flight so we can provide you with the best possible service. Our staff will assist you through immigration and boarding.

At Air Mauritius, you're welcome to board the aircraft ahead of other customers. We will make a pre-boarding announcement at the departure gate and, if needed, will help you get to the aircraft and to your seat. If you are traveling in a wheelchair or have requested individual assistance, we offer you priority boarding whenever possible, thus enabling you to board and seat comfortably before the remaining passengers. In case a passenger requiring oxygen in-flight is accepted, we can arrange pre-boarding facilities and assist with seating.

Our A350-900 and A330-900 aircraft are equipped with an on-board wheelchair enabling you to move about easily during the flight. We provide care and attention to visual or hearing-impaired customers as well. 

Our cabin crew members will help you with setting up the wheelchair and ensure that you move along the aisle of the aircraft safely.

Note: This excludes help with eating, drinking, taking or administering medication and being lifted. If you require help with these, we recommend you travel with a companion.

If you cannot use the on-board wheelchair due to your disability, please inform us at the time of booking.

Getting seated on board

You may select your seat at the time of booking or check-in*.To facilitate the seating of disabled or reduced-mobility passengers, most seats are equipped with foldable armrests. Our crew will help visual/hearing impaired passengers to their seats.

*Seats are not guaranteed even if the seat reservation is confirmed, and Air Mauritius reserves the right to change the seating for operational, safety or, security or medical emergency reasons, even after boarding the aircraft, in which case a full refund of the price paid to reserve a specific seat, where applicable, will be given. Air Mauritius decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

On-board facilities

Most of our aircraft are equipped with facilities for passengers with disabilities. Door handles and locks, grab bars, soap dispensers, faucets, flush controls and call buttons  are designed to be operable with minimal single effort. Washrooms on most of our aircraft are fully accessible to passengers using wheelchair on-board.

For your convenience, we kindly request you to leave the aircraft after all the other passengers have exited. Your wheelchair and/or other personal mobility devices will be delivered at the gate or at the baggage delivery point, as per local airport procedures.