Customers with special needs
Flights between Canada and the US
Air Canada is subject to the US Department of Transportation’s Rule on “Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel” (14 CFR Part 382) applicable to the services we offer customers with special needs who:
- Are travelling on a flight between Canada and the United States; and
- Have purchased a ticket with an Air-Canada operated flight through a US-based airline (the ticket will then bear the code of the US airline, e.g. United Airlines’ UA 7811).
Advance notice
If one of the conditions listed below applies to you, you will need to advise Air Canada 48 hours in advance of travel and be at the airport for check-in one hour prior to the normal check-in time for your flight. However, no medical approval is required prior to travel, unless otherwise stated in the "Medical approval for travel" section below.
- You require medical oxygen (e.g. Medipak) or CPAP, or need to use your personal oxygen concentrator (POC). View list of approved POCs for travel on Air Canada flights. Please note that POCs must bear a label from the manufacturer to reflect that it has been tested to meet requirements for such devices set by the Canadian government.
- You are travelling with an electric wheelchair on a Dash 8, CRJ or Beech aircraft (fewer than 60 seats). View our Fleet page for more information.
- You are travelling with a dog as an emotional support or psychiatric service animal in the cabin. See the special section below for more information.
- You have both a severe hearing and severe vision impairment.
- You need Air Canada to provide hazardous materials packaging for the battery of your battery-operated assistive device (e.g. wheelchair);
- You are travelling as part of a group of ten or more qualified individuals with a disability;
- You are travelling with a service animal on a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more.
If you are not in one of the situations stated above, you need not provide advance notice prior to travel. However, if you require special assistance at the airport or in flight, or require special seating accommodations, we highly recommend that you contact us in advance, so we can better serve your needs.
Medical approval for travel
The cabin environment on a flight is not the same as on the ground. In certain individuals, high altitude may affect the assimilation of oxygen in the blood. As such, certain medical conditions may be affected by high altitude. Air Canada has identified these conditions and, for all of its flights - with the exception of flights between Canada and the United States or flights for which passengers hold a ticket with a US-based airline coded flight operated by Air Canada (e.g. UA7811) - Air Canada requires that persons with these conditions provide a Fitness for Travel form completed by their physician. This is to ensure the passenger's condition will not be aggravated during flight, and will not require emergency diversion.
Although by law we cannot require you to complete the fitness for air travel form if you are only travelling between Canada and the United States or hold a ticket with a US-based airline coded flight operated by Air Canada (e.g. UA7811), we strongly recommend that you consult your medical practitioner before taking a flight if you do have one of these conditions.
However, if any of the medical conditions listed below apply to you, you will require a medical certificate for travel. Please read and follow the procedure for requesting medical approvalcarefully. Air Canada recommends a 48 hour advance notice prior of travel to process your medical approval. Air Canada will nonetheless make a reasonable effort to accommodate reservations made within this time frame.
- You require medical oxygen (e.g. Medipaks) or CPAP, or need to use your personal oxygen concentrator (POC). View list of approved POCs for travel on Air Canada flights.
- You have an infectious or contagious disease that could pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others on your flight (e.g. tuberculosis or SARS).
- There is medical reasonable doubt that you can complete the flight safely without requiring extraordinary assistance during the flight.
If you are not sure whether you require a medical certificate for travel, please contact Air Canada Reservations
Special seating
By contacting Air Canada Reservations, you can request:
- A seat:
- with liftable or removable armrests
- with additional floor space to accommodate a service animal
- with greater legroom if you have a fused or immobilized leg (e.g. full-leg cast or leg that cannot bend)
- An adjoining seat for:
- A personal care attendant or safety assistant
- A reader/assistant if you are visually impaired
- An interpreter if you are hearing impaired
Travel with a safety assistant
Air Canada may require that you travel with a safety assistant if:
- Because of a mental disability, you are unable to comprehend or respond appropriately to safety instructions from onboard personnel;
- You are affected by a mobility impairment so severe that you are unable to assist in your own evacuation of the aircraft in case of an emergency;
- You are affected by both severe hearing and severe vision impairments that are such that you cannot establish adequate means of communication with onboard personnel to allow for the transmission of the required safety briefing and to enable you to assist in your own evacuation of the aircraft in case of an emergency.
We recommend that you contact Air Canada Reservations in advance of travel to benefit from special rates (if applicable) and to request adjoining seats for you and your safety assistant.
Travel with a service animal, or with a dog as an emotional support or psychiatric service animal
Service animals
If you wish to travel with a service animal:
- You will need to ensure that your animal is harnessed and certified as having been trained to assist a person with a disability by a professional service animal institution (as a requirement under the Canadian Air Transportation Regulations), and
- If you are travelling on a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more, you must:
Dogs as emotional support or psychiatric service animals
If you wish to travel with a dog* as an emotional support or a psychiatric service animal, you must provide supporting documentation in the form of an original letter on the letterhead of a licensed mental health professional (e.g. a psychologist, psychiatrist or licensed clinical social worker), dated within one year of your departure date.
The letter must confirm that:
- you have a mental or emotional disability recognized by the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders);
- you need your dog for emotional or psychiatric support during travel and/or at destination;
- the person who prepared the document is a licensed mental health professional; and
- you are currently under the care of the licensed mental health professional who prepared the document.
The letter must also provide information on the mental health professional’s license (i.e. type of licence, date issued, and issuing authority).
*Air Canada does not accept animals other than dogs as emotional support or psychiatric service animals.
How to get a copy of Part 382
Customers can obtain a copy of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rule on Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel (14 CFR Part 382) in accessible format by contacting the US Department of Transportation through one of the following means:
- Web:
On the Aviation Consumer Protection Division’s website.
- Phone:
From within the US – call the hotline at:
- 1-800-778-4838 (voice)
- 1-800-455-9880 (Hearing Impaired - TTY)
From outside the US – call the Aviation Consumer Protection Division at:
- 202-366-2220 (voice)
- 202-366-0511 (Hearing Impaired - TTY)
-
Mail:
Air Consumer Protection Division
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
The West Building
Room W96-432
Washington, DC
20590
