Before you travel

Requesting assistance and making arrangements before you arrive at the airport.

You must pre-book your assistance through your airline or travel agent a minimum of 48 hours before your flight

Booking your assistance

If you require any assistance through East Midlands Airport, please ensure you make the necessary arrangements before you travel. Your airline or travel agent will take all necessary information from you regarding your assistance, and will inform the Assisted Travel Team 48 hours ahead of your travel.

Our Assisted Travel service is free of charge; you will never be asked to pay for assistance.

Airline assisted travel contact numbers

Aurigny – 01481 822886 – customerservices@aurigny.com
Blue Islands – 01234 589 200
Eastern Airways – 01652 680 600 – customersupport@easternairways.com
Jet2.com – 0800 408 5591 –customer.service@jet2.com
Ryanair – 01279 358 399 – specialassistance@ryanair.com
TUI Airways – 0203 451 2585

If you are unable to book your assistance prior to 48 hours before your travel, you must still inform your airline or travel agent and they will inform the Assisted Travel Team as early as possible. On your arrival we will be able to assist you; however, there may be a slight wait as passengers who have booked in advance will be assisted first.

We also offer blue badge parking for customers who require it.

Assistance categories

Your airline will ask you a series of questions to determine what kind of assistance you need for your journey. Your airline uses this information to assign an assistance category to your booking. We will use this category to ensure that you receive the relevant assistance. There are many types of assistance, but we have listed a few of the common ones below which may help you to communicate with your airline what assistance you need.

WCHR- Wheelchair required, able to use aircraft steps, able to walk short distances on the aircraft

WCHS- Wheelchair required, not able to use aircraft steps, able to walk short distances on the aircraft

WCHC- Wheelchair required, not able to use aircraft steps, or walk for any distance

DPNA- Other disability (e.g. Neurodiverse, autism etc)

BLND- Blind or visually impaired

DEAF- Deaf or hearing impaired

BDGR/ PETC- Guide Dog or Assistance Animal

Assistance Passport

At East Midlands Airport we aim to make all our customers’ journeys seamless. So we have developed an 'Assistance Passport' to help customers communicate their needs to us.

You can download and print one ahead of your journey, fill it in, and hand it in to a member of our team at the Assisted Travel desk. They will have all the information needed to register your assistance, and make the necessary arrangements in situations where you may prefer not to, or be unable to, discuss your requirements verbally.

The assistance passport can be downloaded here, and is entirely optional for your journey.

Making arrangements before you travel

Electric mobility aids and general mobility equipment

If you are travelling with your own mobility aid you must always try to pre-book this with your airline or travel agent as any failure to do so could result in your mobility aid not being able to travel with you. It is important that the dimensions and weight of the equipment are supplied to your airline or travel agent prior to travel so any necessary arrangements can be made with the handling agent at the airport.

Assistance Dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome into the terminal building and may travel on aircraft providing they comply with all necessary regulations. You must inform your airline or travel agent prior to travel so they can make any necessary arrangements. For further advice on flying with your assistance dog please visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk or www.caa.co.uk.

We have two assistance dog relief areas at the airport. The first is before security and is located next to the Meet & Greet parking area; please ask a member of the Assisted Travel Team if you require any assistance. The second is located after security; if you would like to use this area before your flight please request this from a member of the Assisted Travel Team as it requires one of our team to escort you there.

We are unable to process other pets or animals that are not certified as an assistance dog by a recognised body.

Try Before You Fly

If you require some familiarisation with our airport in advance of travel, our Assisted Travel Team proudly operates a select number of Try Before You Fly events each year. Our Try Before You Fly tours are popular with (but not limited to) customers with autism or neurodivergence, or newly disabled people who are unfamiliar with the assistance and equipment we offer.

Each tour is personalised to your individual requirements. To enquire about availability and express which areas of the airport you want to be familiarised with, please email our team at customerservice@eastmidlandsairport.com, quoting 'Try Before You Fly'.

Note that we are unable to grant access to any aircraft as part of the tour, although we will do our best to familiarise you with the aircraft parking area if this would be beneficial. We are also unable to grant access to any part of the airport that is not normally available to the general public. Each tour lasts for approximately 1 hour, and is conditional on you successfully obtaining a visitor's airside pass ahead of the event, which we will help you with. These events are free of charge, and we will waive the cost of any parking charges incurred. Availability is on a first come first served basis.

Reserve & Collect

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