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Preparing your Departure |
 Easy
Access ...
Reserving with an Airline
Doctor's Consent
Accompanying Person
on Board
Saphir
Assistance at the Airport
Accompanying Person
Contacting
the Airport
Reserving with an
Airline:
Passengers requiring assistance
to board or disembark must inform the airline as soon as possible
so that the necessary arrangements can be made (on the ground
and in the air).
The following international codes will
help you explain to the airline what kind of assistance you
require:
INTERNATIONAL CODES |
|  |
|
| WCH
R |
you
can walk slowly and climb stairs but need a wheelchair
for long distances within the terminal building |
| WCH
S |
you can manage
the few steps from the aircraft door to your seat. |
| WCH
C |
you
cannot take even a single step and will be assisted
throughout your journey |
| STRC |
passenger on
a stretcher |
| BLND |
passenger
with impaired or no vision |
| DEAF |
passenger
with impaired or no hearing |
| OXYG |
passenger needing oxygen during the flight |
| MEDA
|
passenger with
airline doctor's approval |
|
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It
is important when you reserve to specify whether or not you
are travelling with your own wheelchair. If you are, state whether
it is electric or manual, collapsible or not, its weight, and
its measurements when folded in the following order: length,
width, height. For electric wheelchairs you must also specify
the type of battery (dry or wet).
Non-seeing
passengers: some airlines accept guide dogs on board.
Doctor's
Consent:
In certain cases*, the airline
may ask your doctor to complete a health questionnaire for the
airline's doctor before agreeing to carry a passenger being
medically assisted.
* Passenger on a stretcher,
with a contagious condition, just out of hospital, with an evolving
handicap, a mental handicap, etc.
Accompanying
Person on Board:
If a handicapped passenger is
unable to fasten or unfasten their belt, to take hold of and
put on their oxygen mask or life jacket, or to understand safety
instructions, the airline may demand the presence of an accompanying
person during the flight.
Some airlines offer a discount
for an accompanying person.
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SAPHIR |
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| Saphir
is Air France's telephone information and reservation
service for the handicapped and people with reduced
mobility. Hostesses are experienced and specially
trained to provide information to passengers who
require assistance. The Saphir call-centre is based
at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. |
Tel:
0 820 01 24 24 (0.12/min.)
from 9am to 7pm on Monday to Friday and 9am to 6pm
on Saturday • Fax: +33 (0)4 93 18 53 50 • E-mail:
mail.saphir@airfrance.fr
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Assistance
at the Airport:
Two companies provide assistance
for the handicapped at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport if requested
to do so by an airline. These companies have wheelchairs that
are compatible with aircraft, and vehicles equipped to transport
people in wheelchairs. The staff are experienced and qualified
and they all have a First Aid Certificate from the French Red
Cross. Assistants adapt to each passenger's handicap, doing
all they can to reassure nervous passengers and make airport
formalities as easy as possible. Their aim is to ensure that
the passenger's passage through Nice Côte d'Azur Airport goes
as smoothly as possible.
Accompanying
Person:
For security reasons, an accompanying
person not holding a flight ticket may not accompany a handicapped
passenger beyond the security checkpoints into the boarding
lounge.
If there is a long wait in the boarding lounge, an official
assistant will not remain with the passenger but simply return
when it is time to board.
First portal for handicapped people,
their families and friends, and paramedical staff. Information,
services... a gold mine of information!. http://www.handiplus.com
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