Air Travel Tips for Travelers with Health Issues or Disabilities
Travel by air for people with health issues, handicaps, disabilities or special needs, can be challenging. The following air travel tips will help make your flight and trip, whether domestic or international, easier, cheaper and safer.
When making your travel reservations, request any carts, wheelchair services or any other transportation you’ll need. Fully describe your limitations and needs. Get your airline ticket and boarding pass well ahead of time so you don’t have to wait in any lines. You’ll be able to arrange travel at a discount, get better travel deals, and avoid last minute travel headaches.
Talk with your airline representative or travel agent regarding the type of restrooms that are on the airplane. Call your airport and find out as much information as possible about the restrooms and handicapped parking at the airport.
You’ll need to find out how you’ll be boarding the airplane at each of the airports involved in your trip. You may need another type of airplane or alternative route so you’ll have Jetways, or jet bridges, into the plane from the airport and not have to worry about stairs.
One year my mother and I were going to fly out of the San Jose, California airport and discovered after we arrived that we had to go outside on the ground level with the wheelchair to the tarmac. Four airline employees had to carry my mother in the wheelchair up the steep steps to board the plane. This might be impossible if there are weight issues.
Think about what seat arrangement will work best for you needs. Would an aisle seat make it more convenient to get to the restroom? You’ll want to avoid sitting in the emergency exit row. The passengers in this row may be asked to help others in an emergency situation.
Let the airlines and flight attendants know if you have any assisting devices. Find out the best way to store them so they arrive without damage.
Always keep in mind what you can do easily and without assistance, as well as situations that would require help.
Can you transfer to seats by yourself? Will you need a transfer board or assistance from airline staff?
Consider hiring a travel nurse if you have serious health or medical issues. There are traveling nurses networks.
Can you describe your wheelchair, scooter or walker, dimensions, weight, type of tires, type of batteries, etc.? You may need to take along spare batteries. You also may need to rent or buy a travel wheelchair.
Make sure to mention to your travel agent or airline representative any assisting devices you may need or already have like canes and crutches. Do you need a slow pace or are you a slow walker?
If you will be traveling through different time zones, how will jet lag affect your situation?
Consider how the following will be of concern during your trip and discuss with your travel agent: upper body strength, communication ability, speech issues, voice issues, vision problems, hearing problems, heat issues, medication needs, oxygen requirements, and dietary requirements such as gluten-free meals.
Try to arrange or book your air travel through experienced travel agencies or tour operators that specialize in disabled travel. There are a large number of agencies throughout the U. S., Canada, Europe, Australia and many other countries.
Just in case you need them, it’s also good to know if there are any travel agencies that specialize in disabled travel at your destination, for return travel, local resources or travel services.
At the airport let airline boarding personnel know that you may need extra time to board the plane. Sit close to the door at the gate so you’re called first and then board at a comfortable pace.
After the plane has landed, never get off the plane until you see or have your assisting device, wheelchair, travel wheelchair, etc. Flight attendants have to stay on the airplane until the last passenger leaves. They will help you while you’re on the plane but once you’re off the plane they won’t be able to help you.
Make sure you carry your medications and back-up prescriptions with you onto the plane, along with doctors’ names, addresses, fax numbers for faxing prescriptions, phone numbers, medical diagnosis, names and dosages of medications you’re taking and any allergies you have.
Photocopy passports, airline tickets, American Express Travelers Cheques, credit cards, any important papers.
Carry your health insurance information with you on the plane. Know what you’ll do if you encounter a health problem or medical emergency on your trip. Get travel insurance to ensure less costly medical assistance. These emergency bills may not be covered under your health insurance policy. It’ll ease your mind to have this back-up travel insurance and prevent costly emergency medical charges on your trip. Emergency medical costs can run considerably higher than standard medical fees.
These air travel tips should provide good insurance and help make your airplane travel, with health issues, handicaps, disabilities or special needs, easier, safer and cheaper.
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Travel Insurance – A Must Have Or A No Go
Are you planning a vacation and are undecided about the usefulness of travel insurance? If so, this is the correct site to be. You have most likely heard horror stories from fellow travelers and perhaps your own travel agent about the necessity of travel insurance, but is it really true? Since you plan to spend a goodly sum of money on airfare, accommodations, car rentals and other arrangements, it is probably a good idea to insure your trip with travel insurance.
There are a vast number of unforeseen circumstances that could arise before your trip that would make travel insurance vitally important for you to get a refund of your money. Travel insurance was created to act as a safety net for people whose travel plans were drastically changed through no fault of their own. Whether the airline personnel go on strike, there is violent weather in the region where you plan on visiting, there is a death in the family, or perhaps an unexpected illness forces you to cancel your reservations, travel insurance ensures that your money will be refunded if your travel plans are not carried out. Also, there a number of specific areas where travel insurance can be of help to you while you are actually traveling.
Much of the travel insurance is bought by travelers to cover unforeseen health or medical problems beyond the scope of their personal health coverage. Such medical travel insurance policies are specifically designed to provide medical coverage while you are on your trip. Since many group and individual health insurance plans do not cover you outside of your specific area, or restrict coverage to emergencies only, you might want to look into your regular insurance plan to determine if you would be covered in a foreign country. By purchasing travel insurance, you are guaranteed to be covered in any medical situation that may occur.
Since September 11, 2001, outbreaks of terrorism have plagued many regions of the globe. If a terrorist act suddenly occurs in an area in which you have chosen to travel, the airline is not required to provide you a refund if you choose not to travel because of the terrorist threats–unless you have travel insurance. Given the unpredictability of events in today’s world, you never know where or when a troubling situation could arise, and therefore, travel insurance becomes a must.
Airline flights can be cancelled at any time, for a vast variety of reasons–bankruptcy of an airline, a pilot’s strike, inclement weather conditions, mechanical failures, and any number of factors that can not be predicted. In some circumstances, flights are not rescheduled and refunds are not given, which means that you lost not only your flight, but also the money you spent to purchase your ticket. Travel insurance insures your ticket and guarantees that if the flight does not depart, no matter what the reason, you will get a refund of the ticket price.
Have you ever lost your bags or know someone who has? In most cases the airlines find and return the missing baggage, but in some cases it is never found. In other cases, it is discovered that items have disappeared from your luggage. In these cases, travel insurance would act to insure whatever items are lost or stolen so that you can replace your belongings.
If you decide to buy travel insurance, it is important that you research a number of travel insurance companies and plans before choosing one. Travel insurance can be purchased for each individual trip or, for people who are frequent travelers, there are long-term (usually one year) travel insurance plans available.
Be sure your travel insurance purchase covers all the bases, ask lots of questions, and confirm that your policy will cover all unforeseen circumstances of your trip, not just a few specific situations.
Best wishes for safe and healthy travel!
The Best Way to See and Love Kerala
The other Kerala tours are hill station tours to Munnar and Idukki. Trekkers and hikers will get various opportunities for trekking and hiking in Munnar. Biking, water sports are other attractions for adventure freaks.
Start your Kerala travel & Holidays with backwaters is one place that you should not miss. Kerala backwater is actually your interface with the pure and clear beauty of Mother Nature. So beautiful is the view that you will feel that you are soaking in the pure natural form of beauty and all you need is one camera and you can’t stop clicking this very picturesque place. And if you still want to experience the naïve beauty of nature on your holidays in Kerala than Munnar hill station is another place that you can visit, acres of plantations of coffee and tea is what you first see when you enter Munnar and the very beautiful weather of the place combined with the even more beautiful locations of the place makes it one of the most preferred tourist locations. There are certain places near Munnar where in you can explore the nature by carefully having a look at the flora and fauna or going for trekking or just viewing the long lawns of green coffee and tea plantations.
South India is spot for the best exotic vacations. If you’re looking for a place where you can enjoy nature and culture at its best, you’ve come to the right spot. South India is bounded by rivers, oceans, and mountain ranges. South India tour packages offer a vacation that is not only closer to nature itself but also to the rich heritage of India as well.