With Saphir, Air France offers you a range of services tailored to your special needs. Making your reservation, ground assistance, medical clearance, wheelchair support, assistance animals... Find all the information you need for complete peace of mind as you prepare for your trip.
We advise you to contact a Saphir agent to book your ticket and notify us of your special or particular needs at least 48 hours before your departure. You can either:
contact a Saphir agent by phone: Consult the telephone numbers by country,
complete the Saphir form online or send an e-mail,
a Saphir agent will be in touch by phone as soon as possible,
Do you have a motor-based disability? You may travel without the aid of a personal safety attendant if you are able to physically contribute to your safe exit from the aircraft in case of an emergency.
Do you have a mental disability? You may travel without the aid of a personal safety attendant if you are able to understand and apply safety instructions. If you cannot meet these requirements, you must be accompanied by a personal safety attendant. Do you have a sensory impairment? People with sight or hearing impairments must be accompanied by a personal safety attendant.
For children
If your child has:
- a motor-based disability : If your child can physically contribute to his or her safe exit from the aircraft in case of an emergency, he or she can travel as an unaccompanied minor, supervised by Air France.
- a mental disability or sensory impairment: He or she may travel as an unaccompanied minor, supervised by Air France, if he or she is able to understand and apply safety instructions
Your personal attendant...
must be a fully autonomous* adult, not requiring assistance of the crew,
is not permitted to look after a passenger with reduced mobility whilst also accompanying: - a child under 4 years old (on flights in France and in the French overseas territories), - a child under 5 years old (on international flights), - another passenger with reduced mobility (unless the Air France medical service has agreed to this).
*Except in special cases. For further information, please contact a Saphir agent
if you are traveling with a stretcher or incubator,
if, due to your state of health, you may need extraordinary medical assistance during the flight,
if you need oxygen therapy (at a rate of more than 2L/min.) during the flight.
How to obtain medical clearance Your primary doctor must obtain this certificate from the Air France medical service. How to go about this: 1. Your doctor fills in a medical information form (MEDIF) 2. To obtain clearance, your doctor sends this form:
to the Air France medical service (if you live in France): Air France - Service Médical 148 avenue de l´Université 75007 Paris - France
or to the local Air France physician (if you live in another country). Their contact details will be sent to you by a Saphir agent or your travel agency.
3. The medical service determines your fitness to travel and if so, issues your medical clearance.
* Even if a syringe is empty for the duration of the flight, you are advised to obtain a certificate to ensure that it passes through airport security checks.
Assistance animals are permitted to travel provided they comply with sanitary and customs regulations. Find out more from our booking agents, as some countries apply strict regulations to animal transportation. During the flight, your animal must be kept on its leash, attached to the frame of the seat in front of you. A muzzle is not required.
Remember to make any special requests when booking your trip!
Therapeutic oxygen If you have breathing difficulties, you may use therapeutic oxygen on board*. Please remember to request this when you make your reservation.
Reservation of an additional seat If your leg is in a cast or you cannot bend it, reserve an additional seat for greater comfort! A discount may be offered for the additional seat – find out more from Saphir or your travel agency.
Special diets A special meal can be served onboard: salt-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, etc. This service is available on most flights of over two-and-a-half hours. Remember to request this when you make your reservation, at least 48 hours prior to departure.
Visually-impaired or deaf/hard-of-hearing passengers If you require special assistance at the airport, remember to request this when you make your reservation.
Visually-impaired or deaf/hard-of-hearing passengers If you require special assistance at the airport, remeber to request this when you make your reservation, or at least 48 hours prior to your flight.
