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Cpap as hand luggage
I have booked a group trip to Australia in June and most of the group want to fly from Birmingham via Dubai the problem is the only airline that goes from Birmingham is Emirates but the travel agent has had a really difficult time trying to tell them about cpap they at first thought I wanted to use it in-flight so it would need a dry cell battery phone calls have been going backward and forward most of the day between myself travel agent and sleep clinic but now it seems Emirates have told them it needs to go in my hand luggage which will take most of the room and I have to get my own doctor to fill in a their medical form. My doctor has never had anything to do with me regarding my osa. I have a letter from the hospital explaining what the cpap is for which has always been acceptable on European flights does anyone know if there is a way around the putting it in your hand luggage. Sorry this is so long but I have tried to shorten it but this is the first problem I have had in 4 years of using a cpap.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by 99 on
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it should be counted as extra hand luggage and should not affect you normal hand luggage
should they want to search it ask them to put on a fresh pair of gloves and watch them in addition Kath has labels to attach to your case to assist in easier passage ring the airline or airlines before hand to smooth the way and send a photocopy of both your medical letters and make further photocopies for yourself
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Permalink Reply by Ken1064 on
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I travelled to Sydney last year from Newcastle. Yes the equipment does need to go as hand luggage, but it does not use your allowance. You need a letter from your clinic to say that the equipment must travel as cabin luggage. Did have problem, my agent sent a fax to the airline, but when I went to check in it wsnt in my booking arrh.
Ken
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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Bathgate on
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I have the labels from Kath and I have a letter from my sleep clinic from when I started cpap although I looked at the letter properly yesterday because of the way the airline is behaving and it actually says Mr instead of Mrs never noticed that before and I have had the letter since 2010 anyway with my sleep clinic being only 15 min drive away I have arranged to go and pick up a new copy. Which gave me the oportunity to talk to a sleep nurse about new masks if they had the Wisp yet she said no but they have the Nano fx if I would like a try on not bad considering 2 years ago they said they did not want to see me for six year so really glad they have been very helpful.
99 said:it should be counted as extra hand luggage and should not affect you normal hand luggage
should they want to search it ask them to put on a fresh pair of gloves and watch them in addition Kath has labels to attach to your case to assist in easier passage ring the airline or airlines before hand to smooth the way and send a photocopy of both your medical letters and make further photocopies for yourself
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Hi Ken I have always took it on the usual European flights as extra to hand luggage Ryan air even sent me a letter of approval to show at the airport but Emirates are being very awkward and reading through their special needs info I am wondering if they think Cpap and Bi-pap need to be in continuous use whilst on the flight becaue they just kept going on about dry cell batteries I wonder if they think it runs on oxygen we could not get it through to them that it won't be used at all they said at first I would have to put it in the hold.
Ken1064 said:I travelled to Sydney last year from Newcastle. Yes the equipment does need to go as hand luggage, but it does not use your allowance. You need a letter from your clinic to say that the equipment must travel as cabin luggage. Did have problem, my agent sent a fax to the airline, but when I went to check in it wsnt in my booking arrh.
Ken
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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Very jealous of your trip and if you need someone to carry your CPAP I'm willing
Definitely take in as hand luggage Jacqueline and hopefully you'll get permission so that it's not counted as extra. The luggage tag you've already got helps with this too, once airport staff see it's a medical device! Check out the blog on travel too http://www.sleepapnoeablog.com/travelling-on-holidaysvacations-trip...
Have a great time!
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I'm sorry this is no help for your flight to Australia, and not wanting to hijack your thread, but we have just been in touch with Jet2 re this, and they allow the CPAP to be taken as additional hand baggage, at no extra cost. You email them at assistance@jet2.com with your booking details, and they will send you out an authority letter, and advise the check-in and flight crew. Easy-peasy!!! Hope this is of help to someone...
Mike.
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Hi. I have not travelled with Emirates, but did travel with Singapore to Perth a couple of years ago. I have also travelled with other scheduled airlines. No-one has ever questioned my carrying on CPAP equipment, or ever suggested it should count as part of by hand-baggage allowance, or asked to see a doctor's letter. Singapore said I could use my Respironics from their in-seat mains outlet (I was going on an overnight flight) but then revoked this permission during check-in :( But they were happy for me to take it as carry-on, and as I was designated "special needs" offered me help boarding the aircraft - much to everyone's bemusement.
I expect you've seen http://www.theemiratesgroup.com/english/images/12%20Health%20Onboar... which talks about using CPAP in-flight with batteries. But there's an e-mail address in there, which might be a useful contact.
Bon voyage!
Jonathan
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Thanks for both these updates Mike and Jonathan, and I'm currently speaking with a customer who is on her way from Austria to Australia (I think via Singapore, but am not certain of this). She's having trouble getting permission to use her CPAP onboard, so Jonathan can you tell us if the laptop power she'll have on her flight will power her Resmed CPAP ok, as she says she's tempted to just plug it in there?
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Kath Hope said:
Jonathan can you tell us if the laptop power she'll have on her flight will power her Resmed CPAP ok, as she says she's tempted to just plug it in there?
Hi Kath,
I REALLY WOULD NOT TRY USING THE OUTLET. Sorry to be negative about this. The socket is a 110V US-style socket limited to a small current, for obvious safety reasons. If you draw to much, I suspect a bunch of seats lose power, and this cannot be reset whilst in the air. The current rating printed on my Respironics power supply was much bigger than the 75W limit of the in-seat socket, but I very much doubt that in practice the Respironics machine uses more than 75W when being used WITHOUT the humidifier. My partner's Resmed power supply says it requires 1.5A at 110V (i.e.165W) to produce 90W of output to the CPAP machine. My new DeVilbiss says 130W. Without a humidifier presumably both machines require much less. The power supplies are very similar to a laptop one, but I would not want to be held responsible for "putting an aircraft in danger" in this day and age. There's a difference between an innocent mistake, and defying instructions.
On a practical note, Singapore use Boeings and Airbuses so availability and power limits may vary between flights. SeatGuru is a useful resource. Also I think the socket is between the seats and shared by two passengers. And on the day, there's no guarantee the socket will be working. If you really need to sleep in-flight, I would recommend a battery pack, but they can be very expensive. Details at CPAP.com. There are also limits on how many batteries you can take on a plane, for safety reasons. Flying from London to Perth, we planned a stopover in Singapore, so the longest flight was no more than 14 hours.
What I would recommend to any traveller, is taking a very long (e.g. 10m) mains cable or extension cord. Most CPAP machines use a "figure-of-eight" connector, and you can find long cables on EBay, with UK, EU or US plugs on the other end. They don't cost very much, and it's surprising how many hotels don't have power sockets near the bed.
Jonathan.
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Thanks for the helpful response Jonathan
. I'll pass this onto the lady in an email, who is due to fly anytime now.
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Hi Kath/Jonathan
I do not intend using my cpap in flight I'm sure I can manage a night without machine/sleep as we are stopping off in Dubai for one night going to Australia I just wonder why Emirates say that the cpap has to be put in my hand luggage which takes up most of my space in the case, where other airlines allow them to be carried on as medical equipment and why I have to have a signed declaration off my doctor that I am capable of using the machine in flight and do I need oxygen I think they have got themselves mixed up when the travel agent called to verify. I will try myself a little nearer the time to fly but either way it will be packed away. I will just have to enclose it in a clear plastic zip bag if I can find one so they inspect it without contamination. I think with what has happened recently all strange looking objects will be scrutinised thoroughly. But many thanks for your help in this matter.
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This came up on my search of Emirates, so you might well remind them that CPAP is not supposed to count as your recommended normal weight restrictions for carry-on luggage http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/plan_book/essential_information/... It does need to be 'carried on' as you don't want it damaging if you were to put it through as normal luggage. Did you see on the blog (http://www.sleepapnoeablog.com/travelling-on-holidaysvacations-trip...\) the cabin trolley bag I recommended? I put my CPAP in with all my other carry-on luggage (laptop, handbag + all other things I want to hand). You're right though that lots of the airlines have got themselves muddled, which is why I recommending check with them before you fly. In time, they will all have set rules, but until then we have to muddle through as well!
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