Analise

I'll be arriving on a DL flight at 5:50am on a weekday in late October. I have a back disease/condition called Spondylolisthesis and will probably be having surgery when I return to NYC. I can walk but standing for any more than a few minutes is very painful. I've gotten the green light to go overseas from the back surgeon prior to surgery.

How do I arrange a wheelchair to meet me at the gate at AMS to take me through passport control, the baggage carousel (where I'm hoping the person will lift my bag off the carousel — it will not be heavy), and then into the landslide of security where I can go off on my own two feet?

I have never used a wheelchair but this has been recommended to me by several sources.

Likewise, how do I arrange a wheelchair when I arrive at AMS to depart for JFK 8 days later on a flight departing at 9:15am? I'll need it for bag drop off, passport control and security. I won't need a wheelchair to board the aircraft. Again, it's for relief from standing given my back condition.

I appreciate your advice. Thanks.

mymsman

You need to call your airlines special assistance number to arrange for wheelchairs at both ends of your flights as well as seating on the planes

ysolde

If it is DL, and you already have your reservation, there is a section in your reservation specifically for this. Go into the Special Request section, and they have the wheelchair requests there. There are several different boxes you can click, depending on your needs. You will get a call from DL a few days before your flight, confirming the details of your specific needs, etc. I have found DL to be pretty good about wheelchair requests. Best of luck to you, and bon voyage!

Analise

ysolde

There's no fee for the wheelchair. At US airports, it is customary to tip wheelchair pushers. You may have more than one on the outbound flight -- one taking you from check-in through TSA to the lounge or to the gate, and then another taking you from the lounge or gate onto the plane. Upon your return, you will usually only have one pusher, and it is a tougher job -- they get you from your plane, to baggage claim, through immigration and customs, and out to a cab or car service.

Analise

Thanks ysolde so much. No lounge for me. Just the gate area.

I typically take my 2 wheel pullman with me on flight but assumed I would need to check it because I cannot lift it on to both the security conveyor belt and up to the overhead compartment. Would the person pushing the wheelchair do that thereby making it unnecessary for me to check the bag?

I have a few more for lack of a better word "housekeeping" questions if I may.

1. Will DL direct me where to meet the wheelchair landslide upon arrival at T4 JFK? I typically arrive 3 hours in advance of international flights. Will they agree to meet me 3 hours early or do they assign an arrival time since I will need wheelchair assistance? If delayed at the Airtrain or subway (or make good time and arrive earlier) will I be able to text or call them to notify them?

2. At JFK, since I have TSA precheck, will I still be on the precheck line even in a wheelchair?

3. At AMS on arrival, I can walk off the plane on my own. Will one of the FAs instruct me as to where to meet the wheelchair?

4. Is there a separate handicapped line at AMS passport control or do we all line up together? I'm not asking for faster treatment. I will have 5 hours between arrival and the Thalys train to Paris from AMS. I am just curious.

5. At AMS upon departing, like at JFK, do I meet the agent with the wheelchair 3 hours early? Will DL instruct me in advance what to do? I will be checking my bag as I'll probably have liquids over 300 ml to check.

I don't think I will need wheelchair access upon arrival at JFK as Global Entry is typically pretty quick and the flight arrives from AMS at 11:54am. Plus my husband will be with me so he can lift my pullman off the baggage carousel. He is meeting me that weekend and we'll be traveling together for the rest of the trip.

Jaimito Cartero

Wheelchair service varies widely in the US. Always factor lots of extra time in.

Unless you’re sure you can walk the long distances likely when returning, plus perhaps wait at customs, I’d still ask for a wheelchair at JFK.

In general, I find Europe to have a better quality of wheelchair service, but there can literally be bumps in service. At CDG last year, a guy was actually running, as he was pushing me on the “rubberized” travellator. He didn’t even slow at the end of it, and launched me out of the chair as it went over the threshold bump. Luckily I kinda landed on my feet, but the pusher guy skinned his shin up. I think he was trying to impress the lady who was escorting us.

mymsman

Normally one wheelchair pusher will take you from checkin through passport control and security and into the departure length and will tell you when and where you need to be to meet up with the pusher to take you to the gate, often there is a dedicated special needs seating area and desk. Some airports allow you to request wheelchair assistance from the carpark/kerbside dropoff if needed - I haven't been been through JFK recently but assistance should be available all the way.

Wheelchair pushers and cabin crew are usually good at assisting with stowing carry on bags and collecting bags from carousel

You will normally bypass the lines at security, passport and customs to minimize the pushers time and free them up to serve other passengers

ysolde

DL will do one of two things -- 1. Get you a wheelchair at the car drop off area, if that is what you require. In order to do that, you need to flag down a Delta employee as soon as you get there, and let them know that you need a wheelchair, and that you have arranged for one in your reservation. I would call and let them know 24-48 hours before my flight letting them know as well. The other option is to 2. Go to the check in desk and let them know. They will then send you to a dedicated area, where you sit and wait a few minutes for the wheelchair pusher. It is comfortable, but can be crazy-making, as it is sometimes crowded (bear in mind it is usually families together, so it looks like more people than it is).

Usually, the wheelchairs provided by airlines have a small basket underneath them to accommodate wheeled carry-ons. Your roll aboard should slide right into that. The wheelchair pusher will deal with it at TSA (and even keep an eye on it if you are not able to walk through the scanner, something for which I am incredibly grateful). The wheelchair pusher will put it up in the overhead bin (sometimes with the assistance of a FA, depending on where you are seated).

2. You may or may not be on Pre-Check. My experience on this has varied widely.

3. The wheelchair will meet you on the jetway at AMS. The FA will advise you when the wheelchair has arrived. Sometimes they are right there; sometimes it takes a couple of minutes. It's usually pretty efficient.

4. I don't know specifically about AMS. Usually, at European airports, there is a separate line for wheelchairs, with the booth set up a bit differently, so that you can reach from a sitting position and the officer can see you from his/her vantage point. It is usually the same as the crew line and/or the diplomatic line so it is much faster. Crew members are sometimes in a rush to make their next flight, so it is courteous to let them go ahead if they request it. It is not uncommon, in Europe, to be the only person in line at any given time.

5. If you are making any purchases in Europe and want to go through the VAT "detaxe" (tax return) process, make sure to give yourself sufficient time to do that (possibly an extra hour or more). I would assume AMS is much like other European airports (FRA, CDG) -- go to check-in, check your bag, tell them you need a wheelchair. Tell them you are going to do the VAT thing, so hold on to your bag. Wait for wheelchair in designated area. Wheelchair arrives. Go through VAT process (various lines). Check in bag at post-VAT check-in area. Go to gate.

Analise

Thank you!

I won't be making purchases that will allow me to get the VAT refunded. This is more a curious question. I assume that the wheelchair pusher will drop me off at the gate and then leave to do other things. May I assume that the gate agents will notify someone to return so I can board the aircraft?

ysolde

The wheelchair pusher drops you off at the gate. If there is a GA there already, the pusher advises the GA. Before the whole journey begins, however, way outside, in the wheelchair "pen," or "holding area" near the check-in, when you are picked up by the wheelchair pusher, you will notice that the pusher has a little iPad thing, and asks for your name and boarding pass, which s/he notes in the iPad. S/he will usually also stop for a moment to check in with a supervisor/coordinator on the way to TSA. When you get dropped off at the gate, your wheelchair pusher will note that you are at the gate, and that you are scheduled to board at X time. Another pusher will then come to assist with boarding.

If there is a gate change, you need to make some noise with the GA and ensure they call a wheelchair pusher to take you to the new gate. This is very, very, very important.

Analise

Very helpful, thank you, especially about gate changes which do happen more often than not. I am able to walk; my problem with pain is standing & not moving.

DeafFlyer

In Europe, you will likely be taken to a waiting area. When it is time , the pushers (in two countries, it was the local fire / rescue crew) will most likely take you to the gate, and stay with you until boarded. That depends on the amount of assistance you need. I do not walk at all, so that is how it worked for me. The above is about the return journey. In the US it is done differently. Other posts covered that.

Analise

Thank you.