We have over many years welcomed disabled and special needs passengers on board our flights, providing help and assistance throughout the journey process, from check in until arrival at the destination airport arrivals terminal.

Handling passengers with special needs can require discretion, tact, sensitivity and diplomacy. This special service is offered to passengers with a stable disability, whether it is physical, sensory, intellectual or hidden and who require individual attention or assistance which is not normally extended to other passengers.

To ensure that the best possible service is provided, details of the passenger’s disability and assistance needed should be taken in advance of travel.

Comair is limited as to the amount of special cases that can be accepted per aircraft type as per the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Only 5 special cases can be accepted on a B737-200, 6 cases on a B737-300 and 7 cases on a B737-400. Therefore, if this limit has been reached already special assistance will not be confirmed and the passenger would have to be rebooked onto another flight for the day.

Comair provides assistance for special needs passengers on all our flights including both the British Airways and kulula.com brands.

General Wheelchair Assistance

There are three categories of wheelchair assistance that can be requested:

Reasonable consideration should be given to those who cannot walk unaided under normal circumstances. It is generally considered that passengers should be able to fly on flights of up to four hours duration without the need to visit the bathroom.

Unaccompanied Minors (British Airways services only)

Unaccompanied Minors are aged between 05 and 11 years. A child between 18 months and 4 years old needs an Escort booked to travel with them. This Escort needs to be booked through the Special Reservations department in Johannesburg. The agent needs to make sure to advise the parent that they will be liable for the escort’s fare. If the UMNR is 5 or 11 year old a Birth Certificate is needed to be faxed to the special reservations department on the fax numbers provided. Even thought this service is not available on kulula.com flights, we will not turn an Unaccompanied Minor away in the event that no prior arrangements have been made and permitted that we have not already reached our limitation for special cases on that specific aircraft.

Young Passengers

A Young Passenger is between the ages of 12 and 16 years and is allowed to travel unaccompanied. Special assistance is available should it be requested.

Visually or Hearing Impaired Passengers

For these cases, a normal MAAS service will be confirmed, unless otherwise advised by the passenger. Guide dogs are also accepted for travel in the cabin.

Cerebral Palsy Passengers

People with Cerebral Palsy may be only slightly affected or they may have severe symptoms. People with a more severe condition may have profound learning difficulties, others may have little muscle control and can find it difficult to control their bodies or hold themselves upright.

Elderly / Frail Passengers

Passengers who are elderly and request the use of a wheelchair because of their age or because they have difficulty walking are not regarded as either incapacitated or medical passengers and do not require medical clearance.

Intellectually Disabled Passengers

People with learning difficulties will have a mental capacity well below their actual age. This may manifest itself in terms of speech impairment or slowness in communicating. It requires sensitivity and tact to identify them and cater for their special needs.

Paraplegic Passengers

Paraplegics are paralyzed from the waist down. Some have good upper body strength and are often strong enough to be able to power themselves and so no not need as much assistance as for example tetraplegics or frail / elderly passengers. Paraplegics who are will undergoing treatment of rehabilitation require medical clearance.

Persons suffering from diabetes may find their condition affected by travel sickness which could result in complications. They may also require special diets, injections or tablets to control their condition. Where injections are required it is important to establish that this is self-administered and they should always be advised to have additional supplies of insulin (or tablets), spare needles and syringes readily available in their hand baggage.

Medical Cases

Medical Cases fall into two categories:

(a) Those whose fitness to travel is in doubt as evidenced by recent illness, hospitalization, injury, surgery or instability or when special services are required. In most of these cases a medical clearance form is required which must be completed by both the passenger and the attending physician.

(b) Passengers who don’t require medical clearance but who require special assistance, e.g. passengers with permanent disabilities such as blindness or passengers with long term stable medical conditions such as Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis to name a few.

Infectious Diseases

Passengers suffering from an infectious disease of a virus at the time of travel will not be accepted for travel by Comair in line with the World Health Organization instructions.

Mentally Ill Passengers

Mentally ill passengers, i.e. Psychiatric or Schizophrenic people should always be referred to the Special Reservations Department for clearance. They usually require trained escorts to accompany them on the flight.

Recent Surgery

All passengers who have undergone recent surgery (within 14 days of travel) must obtain medical clearance for travel. Clearance must be obtained even when a doctor’s certificate stating the passenger’s fitness to travel is held. This is to ensure their comfort and safety.

Physically Ill Passengers

Medical clearance must be obtained for passengers whose fitness to travel is in doubt as evidenced by recent illness, hospitalization, injury, surgery or instability or when special services are required. Any passenger who is unable to care for their own personal needs will require an escort.

Medication

You should ensure that you take any medication you may require during the flight into the aircraft cabin with you. It is not possible for the cabin crew to refrigerate medication for you and in the unlikely event that your drugs need to be kept cool, it needs to be packed in a suitable container. You may wish to discuss the best way to store medicine with your pharmacist.

Oxygen

Comair is often requested to provide oxygen (for medical use) for certain categories of passengers with medical conditions. This service is available in advance at a cost to the passengers.

Asthmatic

Asthmatic passengers who don’t require oxygen can be accepted for travel without clearance. However, if oxygen is required medical clearance must be obtained.

Expectant Mothers

Expectant Mothers can travel without medical clearance providing there are no complications and a medical certificate is carried between 32 – 36 weeks. After 36 weeks travel is not permitted.

Special meals

We offer a variety of special meals to meet both dietary and religious needs on the vast majority of our routes. These must be requested at the time of booking or no later than 24 hours in advance of travel.

In-flight medical incidents

All Comair cabin crew undergo Aviation Medical Training which is recognized by the Civil Aviation Authority. All Comair aircraft are equipped with an Emergency Medical Kit as prescribed by the CAA.

Our commitment

We are strongly committed to improving accessibility of air travel to disabled and special needs people. We will not refuse to carry them on account of their disability, limited mobility or additional needs if we are informed of their additional needs (for example, require a wheelchair or additional help), have asked us to meet these needs and we have agreed to do so, before they arrive at check in.

We want to ensure that, as a disabled person or special needs passenger, they enjoy the best possible service. The best time to do this is at time of making the reservation. If he / she arrives for his / her flight having made no advance arrangements with us we sometimes find it impossible to give him / her the kind of service they require. In some cases we might not even be able to carry them at all.