Virgin Australia Special Assistance

Virgin Australia does provide special assistance to passengers who are in need of it. Passengers are required to fill out a special assistance service form which mentions clearly what is their precise requirement. Some cases of special assistance are discussed below:

Pregnant Women

Women who are in their 28th week of pregnancy or more are required to submit a certificate from the doctor or mid-wife which clearly states the expected due date of delivery, absence of any complication, whether it is single or multiple pregnancy and that the woman in question is fit to fly.

In flights of more than 4 hours of duration, women having single pregnancy are not allowed to fly after 36th week and those having multiple pregnancy are not allowed to fly after 32nd week. Also, women who have done normal delivery are not allowed to do fly within 48 hours.

In flights of less than 4 hours duration, women of single pregnancy condition are not allowed to fly beyond 40 weeks of pregnancy whereas women of multiple pregnancies are not allowed to fly beyond 36th week of pregnancy. Also, women having delivered through normal delivery are not allowed to fly within 48 hours.

Mobility Disabled

Virgin Australia allows passengers to submit request for their special needs by filling out the online form given in the Special Service request section on the condition that they are not flying within next 24 hours. However, if they have the flight within 24 hours, they need to get in touch with the airline using the call centre.

Virgin Australia generally allows up to 2 wheelchairs on a single domestic flight. This number can change upwards or downwards, therefore the passengers are required to submit this request as early as possible and possibly at the time of ticket booking.

While carrying a wheelchair, the passenger shall inform the size and weight of the wheelchair as well as whether it is fully collapsible or not. There are clear size restrictions for the mobility aids to be carried on different airplanes of the airline. If these dimensions are exceeded, then these would not be allowed to be carried on-board.

Passengers are required to inform the airline of the mobility disability and then the airline can make suitable arrangements. Virgin maintains aisle wheelchair, manual self-propelled wheelchair, motorized wheelchairs, slide board and slide sheet.

Eagle lifts are available at airports of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

Check-in times for the mobility disabled

60 minutes before scheduled departure time for domestic flights and 2 hours for international flights.

You can make use of the manual wheelchair or the motorized one. You can bring you manual wheelchair either for airport movement or till the boarding gate (thereafter put in hold). If you want the wheelchair to be given back at the arrival gate, then the same needs to be security screened at the time of departure. Otherwise, these can be taken at the arrival carousel.

For the motorized wheelchairs, the batteries have to be removed and all instructions of their packing shall be adhered to completely.

Unaccompanied Minors

An unaccompanied minor is a child of age between 5 to 11 years who is travelling without his parent or guardian or any other person above 15 years of age. For such children, it is mandatory to take the UNMR service of Virgin Australia.

The fee is AUD 55 per child per sector for domestic flights.

For international short haul flights, the fee depends on departure country. This is given below:

• Australia: AUD 95
• New Zealand, Cook Islands: NZD 95
• Papua New Guinea: 95 AUD converted 
• Samoa: WST 180
• Indonesia: IDR  935,000
• Fiji: FJD 145
• Solomon Islands: SBD 550
• Vanuatu: VUV 7450
• Tonga: TOP 160
• Thailand: THB 2400

Other airline rules pertaining to unaccompanied child passenger:

• No more than 8 such children can be carried in the flight- eight in economy and two in Business or Premium economy.
• Service not available for connecting flights.
• In case there is health issue with the child, the Medical Guidelines of the Airline must be adhered to.
• There is a need to nominate a Sender and a Receiver of the child by the parents or legal guardians of the Child or any person nominated by them but of 18 years of age or more.

Hearing and Vision Impaired

Those hearing and vision impaired passengers who are in need of special assistance while travelling alone or are travelling with a Service dog, are required to book flights with Guest Contact Centre of Virgin Australia. Online bookings for such passengers are not allowed. They can also make use of the National Relay Service.

The service dog needs to be trained with pre-approved organizations. If it is not so, then there is a need to furnish further information. This includes providing documentary proof that the dog is able to alleviate the effects of disability.

The dog has to be well harnessed and restrained and seated on absorbent mat for the duration of flights.

Generally, 2 service dogs per flight are allowed. If you want to bring more, please contact the airline before booking tickets.