Dear All

Just wondering if anyone out there has had any experience of how Disabled Passenger Assistance works at Basel Airport for passengers who are travelling on their own?

My disabled Mother has been visiting and has pre-booked this assistance with BA - flying to/from Teminal 5 at LHR. On the outbound flight it was easy as there is a separate check-in desk at Heathrow and all passengers who have pre-booked this help are then transferred to a separate waiting lounge until they are taken to the gate for their flight. Having checked on the Basel Airport website I can't find any specific information about where to check-in (does she check-in as normal at BA?) or whether there is a separate check-in desk where this will be done?

I have sent an E-mail to CGS (Customer Ground Services) asking them to confirm that they have received the request for assistance from BA (we have the confirmation from BA that it was requested and confirmed by them at time of booking) and asking them what the process is but haven't received a reply as yet

Any information would be gratefully received - I am going to struggle enough as it is trying to manhandle a wheelchair bound passenger and her suitcase on my own without having to worry about where we are going!

Many thanks

My mother came through Basel some years back and it worked perfectly, there was an assistance service that picked her up from the plane and escorted her through customs and delivered her to me in the waiting area.
Everything was pre-booked at the travel agency in the UK.

Thanks - yes coming out worked perfectly - but a little concerned about how it works from this end getting her back again!!

I've flown several times with folk with Disabilities from Zürich, I don't think I ever did it from Basel though. I can't even remember if we checked in a special desk or not but once we got the labels for the wheelchairs sorted, we also went to a special area and were accompanied and allowed to board first.

My disabled mother did it for years without any problems but only once from Basel.

From what I can recall you go to check in as normal then when you have checked in the luggage and got your wheelchair labelled you go over to the 'special assistance' desk (can't remember the name exactly but it has a picture of a wheelchair on it) and wait until somebody comes along to wheel her through to the boarding gate then onto the plane. I think it is one company who does assistance for several airlines not just BA. It was a few years ago mind you so it might have changed a bit since then.

Thank-you for this - from what I had read it seemed that was the case - but its always useful to check!!

Will re-post tomorrow after I have gone through it with updated information.

I often use assistance as I can't walk a very long distance without extreme pain due to a medical condition I have.

In my experience it differs from airport to airport but the airline are responsible for the booking and the airport staff are the ones that handle it. My guess is that as it is still in Switzerland, Basel will be very much like Zurich which is very efficient. At Zurich you go to the assistance desk on landside and they take you straight to the gate, there's not a second waiting area, you're taken straight through.

Good luck and don't worry I'm sure it'll be fine.

As promised - an update on how Disabled Passenger Assistance works at Basel Airport.

36 hours before travelling you need to e-mail CGS(http://www.euroairport.com/EN/voyage...ID=519&lang=EN) confirming that you have pre-booked this help.

At check-in we confirmed with BA that help had been booked, they were very helpful and put disabled stickers and 'Priority Luggage' labels on the suitcase and labelled her wheelchair even though it had been agreed that she could take her own chair onboard with her (it folds up similarly to umbrella type pushchairs). If she hadn't wanted to take her own chair they would have provided one for her for transport to and from the gate.

However, despite having pre-booked the assistance and confirmed with CGS we still had to wait nearly 40 minutes for someone to come to take her through to the gates - not a huge problem as we had allowed plenty of time for all evenualities but if you were running late you could be in trouble.

Once collected by CGS it was straight forward - straight through passport control and down to the gate, not too bad if the flight is on-time but could be an issue if there is a long delay as there was no-one around at the gate for most of the time. Boarding was simple - first on the plane and plenty of time allowed to get to her seat before they allowed anyone else to board. Although it wasnt necessary they would have physically carried her up the steps to the plane in her wheelchair if the boarding ramps hadn't been available!

So, not as efficient as Heathrow but worked well, just a little concerned about how it would have worked if there had been a long delay and a change of gates (has happened to us several times at Basel).