ITA Airways recommends that passengers make requests for Special Assistance when booking their ticket through Reservations. You can request assistance when booking your flight or at a later stage by contacting the ITA Airways Assistance Team or by sending an e-mail to the following e-mail address special.assistance@ita-airways.com. To contact us from abroad, please click here.

The more information you can provide our representatives when making your travel plans, the more we can help you. Our representatives will answer questions, discuss your specific needs and alert you to special notifications and procedures.

Please keep in mind that some services or accommodations may require 48-hour advance notice and check-in one hour before the check-in time for the general public. Such services and accommodations are presented below. 

In certain cases, ITA Airways may require passenger’s to provide a completed Medical information form (MEDIF) and complete Form A “Information for customers requiring special assistance”, which must be signed by you or your representative.

When booking your flight, ITA Airways recommends that you inform the airline of your need to travel with an electric or manual wheelchair. 

ITA Airways will transport wheelchairs, other mobility aids or other assistive devices free of charge and, when such items may be stored in dedicated passenger cabin stowage space or designated priority areas in overhead compartments or under seats consistent with applicable government safety, security and hazardous materials requirements, they may be brought into the aircraft cabin.

For wheelchair passengers with travel itineraries involving a connection at Rome Fiumicino Airport who require assistance during the embarkation or disembarkation process (assistance type WCHC and WCHS), and in order to offer the best possible service and a comfortable and calm travel experience, ITA Airways recommends a minimum connection time of 1 hour and 15 minutes (for connections between two domestic Italy flights, connections between international flights from/to Schengen countries and domestic Italy flights, or connections between two international flights from/to Schengen countries) or 1 hour and 30 minutes (for connections between two intercontinental flights, connections between intercontinental and domestic Italy flights, connections between domestic Italy flights and international flights from/to non-Schengen countries, or connections between intercontinental and international flights from/to Schengen or non-Schengen countries). You are kindly invited to contact the ITA Airways call center for more information.

Passengers must provide at least 48 hours advance notice and check in one hour before the check-in time for general public to receive the following services and accommodations:

• carriage of an incubator; 
• carriage of respirator, ventilator, or portable oxygen concentrator. Passengers should bring an adequate number of batteries on board the aircraft to power their electronic respiratory assistive medical devices (including portable oxygen concentrators) to power the device for 150% of the expected maximum flight duration. If the apparatus contains a lithium battery, it must not exceed 100Wh, maximum 2 additional spare batteries of maximum 100Wh each can be carried on board, provided they are individually packed in protective casing. Lithium batteries are prohibited in the hold (Get full details on ITEMS PROHIBITED IN BOTH CABIN AND HOLD)
• accommodation for a passenger who must travel in a stretcher;
• transportation for an electric wheelchair on an aircraft with fewer than 60 seats;
• provision of hazardous materials packaging for batteries or other assistive devices that are required to have such packaging;
• accommodation for a group of ten or more qualified individuals with a disability, who make reservations and travel as a group;
• provision of an on-board wheelchair on an aircraft with more than 60 seats that does not have an accessible lavatory;
• the transportation of psychiatric service dogs is allowed only for ticketed itineraries which include flights to/from the USA, in accordance with US law 14 C.F.R. Part 382 (“Part 382”) that governs the carriage of service animals on aircraft.
• transportation of a service animal on a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more; or
• accommodation of a passenger who has both severe vision and hearing impairments.
  
  

ITA Airways will make reasonable efforts to accommodate passengers requiring such assistance who fail to make reservations for such services at least 48 hours in advance or fail to meet these advance check-in requirements, if such accommodation does not delay the flight.

ITA Airways permits guide and service dogs to accompany passengers with disabilities at no charge, subject to the advance notification and check-in requirements under the circumstances described above.

ITA Airways will not accept Emotional Support Animals (ESA).  Passengers traveling with an emotional support dog who book and purchase tickets on or after October 15, 2021 will be subject to pet in cabin fees. The service animal provisions will be found in a new section of Part 382, Subpart EE, 14 C.F.R. §§ 382.72-80.

ITA Airways only accepts dogs as service animals and limits the number to two dogs per passenger.  As evidence that the dog is a guide or service dog, ITA Airways will accept identification cards, other written documentation, presence of harnesses, tags, or the credible verbal assurances of the passenger.

For any flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more, ITA Airways will require that a passenger using a guide or service dog provide documentation that the animal will not need to relieve itself on the flight or that the animal can relieve itself in a way that does not create a health or sanitation issue on the flight.

For passengers traveling with a service animal to/from the USA, ITA Airways now require 48 hours’ advance notice through the submission of DOT forms to be presented at the check-in counter on day of departure.   You may download the forms below. 

DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form

• This form requires passengers to provide information about the health and training of the service animal.
• The form must be “current” which DOT defines as dated after the passenger has booked his/her travel.
• Total failure to submit the form is grounds for refusal to transport the service animal. However, if a passenger does submit the form but does not meet the 48 hour threshold, ITA Airways will accommodate the service animal request to the extent practicable.

DOT Service Animal Relief Attestation Form

• For flights to/from the USA, scheduled to last eight or more hours, ITA Airways requires this form which certifies that the animal can relieve itself in a sanitary manner or will not need to relieve itself during flight.
• For passengers who book travel within 48 hours of departure, ITA Airways requires the form(s) be presented at the departure gate.

These forms require passengers to swear to the truthfulness of their statements. If ITA Airways believes that a passenger has falsified information on the forms, DOT has established an email address where carriers can report such behavior.  

• ITA Airways will never require passengers with service animals to physically check in at the airport.
• For large service animals, ITA  Airways requires that an animal sit on the lap of the service animal handler (provided it meets any size requirements set by FAA or other safety authority) or in the foot space of the service animal user. ITA Airways requires that the animal not encroach on other passengers’ foot space. If the animal is too large, ITA Airways will always first try to move you to another seat location within the same class of service that will accommodate the animal. If there are no alternatives, ITA Airways may require that the animal be transported in the cargo hold free of charge.
• ITA Airways limits the number of service animals to two animals per passenger.
• ITA  Airways does not impose breed restrictions on service animals.
• ITA Airways will only ask persons who are traveling with a service animal if the animal required to accompany the passenger due to a disability and what work or task is the animal trained to perform.
• ITA Airways will never ask about the nature or extent of the person’s disability or that the animal demonstrate its work.
• ITA Airways will deny transportation in the passenger cabin to a service animal in the following circumstances. 
  • The animal poses a direct threat;
  • The animal causes a significant disruption in the aircraft or its behavior indicates it has not been trained to behave in public (e.g., barking, growling, lunging, urinating/defecating, biting, running uncontrolled);
  • Carriage of the animal would violate applicable safety and security regulations; or
  • The passenger traveling with the service animal fails to provide the required forms entirely.
    
    

• For the transportation of guide and service dogs no container is required in the cabin, as long as the dog is leashed and the owner carries a muzzle (to be used only if needed)

If you are a passenger who falls into this category, we will try, if flight conditions permit, to leave the seat next to yours free. 

We would like to remind you that the standard measurements of our seats in Economy Class may vary between 46.99 cm (18.5 inches) and 41.98 cm (16.53 inches)

If, for greater comfort, you wish to purchase an extra seat, you can do so at the booking stage by contacting the Call Center.

In such cases, purchasing an extra seat is only possible in Economy Class on all medium- and short-haul aircraft in the ITA fleet.

Finally, for safety reasons, you cannot sit by the emergency exits, in particular, exits over the wing.

Find out about the other special assistance services:

• Oxygen therapy for passengers with heart, lung or respiratory conditions
• Transporting syringes in the passenger cabin: passengers are encouraged to consult with ITA regarding any government security, safety or hazardous materials regulations restricting or prohibiting the acceptance of syringes in the passenger cabin