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Traveling with ALS
Part of Your ALS Guide
Independent publisher
This describes who publishes a source, not how reliable it is.
Open source (opens in a new tab)Link checked August 2026
About this source
Your ALS Guide’s practical guide.
Where this source is used
Used in 4 places across 1 domain.
Questions
Mobility
Vehicle Adaptations
- What should I plan before travelling or flying with breathing or mobility equipment?
Supports this
“Airlines set their own requirements for medical devices and wheelchair batteries, usually want advance notice, and may ask for paperwork.”
Says to contact the airline well before the trip, list the electrical and battery-powered devices you will bring, get them approved, and ask what paperwork the airline needs. It also says to explain any transfer assistance you will need at the airport.
Let them know which electrical and battery-powered devices you will bring, make sure they are approved, and ask what paperwork you will need to bring or submit.
Traveling by Plane - What should I plan before travelling or flying with breathing or mobility equipment?
Supports this
“If you will be flying, ask your team whether they have any concerns about the change in air pressure.”
Lists this among the things to raise with the ALS clinic or medical team when planning a trip, alongside discussing concerns and asking for recommendations.
If you will be flying, ask if your team has any concerns about changes in air pressure.
Planning Ahead - What should I plan before travelling or flying with breathing or mobility equipment?
Supports this
“Whether you can fly is a clinical question: your doctor and respiratory therapist need to say it is okay, and you need to be able to sit in an aircraft seat for the whole flight.”
States the condition directly. Flying is presented as open to people with ALS, but only with the doctor and the respiratory therapist saying it is okay, and only if the person can sit in an aircraft seat for the length of the flight.
You should be able to travel by plane as long as your doctor and respiratory therapist say it's okay and you are able to sit in an airplane seat for the duration of the flight.
Traveling by Plane - What should I plan before travelling or flying with breathing or mobility equipment?
Supports this
“People with ALS/MND do still travel, including with a large power wheelchair or breathing equipment.”
States it directly, from a page written with an assistive technology specialist and a veteran living with ALS who travels internationally. It is not unqualified: the same paragraph says to expect the unexpected, because accessibility standards on the ground often fall short of what is advertised.
People living with ALS do travel both domestically and abroad, even with large power wheelchairs and respiratory devices.
Traveling with ALS
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