Airport assistance for older patients
Long walks to the gate, queues at security and standing in passport control are hard work at the best of times. On the way home after implant surgery, they can be the most tiring part of the trip. Free help is available, and many people who would benefit never ask.
Medically reviewed by Dt. Hüseyin Yavuz Özbek, implant surgeon · Updated October 2026UK airports and airlines must provide free special assistance to people with a disability or reduced mobility, including people who find walking long distances or standing in queues difficult. Request it through your airline or travel agent when you book, or at least 48 hours before you fly. Assistance can include help through security, a wheelchair or buggy to the gate and help boarding. Ask for it for both the outbound and return flights of each trip.
Many of the people who come to Antalya for All-on-6 are in their sixties and seventies. Most are perfectly mobile day to day, but an airport is not day to day. Terminals are large, security queues are long and gates can be a fifteen-minute walk away. Add swelling, tiredness and a mouth that is still numb in places after surgery, and the return journey of the first trip becomes the hardest part of the whole adventure. Special assistance exists precisely for this.
Who can ask
The Civil Aviation Authority explains that passengers with a disability or reduced mobility have a legal right to free assistance at UK airports and from airlines. Reduced mobility is wider than many people think. It can include:
- Difficulty walking long distances or standing in queues
- Breathlessness, heart or joint problems
- Being unsteady after surgery or illness
- Sight or hearing loss
- Hidden conditions such as dementia, anxiety or autism
You do not need a blue badge or a formal diagnosis. If parts of the airport journey would be difficult for you, you can ask.
What assistance can include
| Stage of the journey | Help that can be arranged |
|---|---|
| Arrival at the airport | Meeting at a help point; help with check-in and bags |
| Security | A quieter or shorter route, help with trays and belongings |
| To the gate | A wheelchair, buggy or escort; seating while you wait |
| Boarding | Priority boarding; help on steps or an ambulift |
| On arrival | Help leaving the aircraft, through passport control and to baggage reclaim |
How to book it
- When you book flightsTick the assistance option or tell your travel agent. If you book online without that option, call or message the airline.
- At least 48 hours beforeThis is the deadline the CAA highlights. Earlier is better, especially in the busy summer months.
- Confirm both directionsMake sure the request covers your return flight from Antalya, not just the outbound.
- On the dayGo to the assistance point at the airport, or tell the check-in desk. Allow extra time.
Give specific details when you ask: can you walk short distances, can you manage aircraft steps, do you need a wheelchair to the gate or just a buggy? The clearer the request, the better the help matches what you need.
What to request for each All-on-6 trip
Your needs may be different on each leg. A sensible pattern for many patients is:
- Trip one, outbound: help only if you normally need it. You are well and rested.
- Trip one, return: this is the flight to plan for. You are a few days after surgery, possibly swollen and tired, and carrying medicines and soft food. Request help even if you would not normally use it.
- Trip two, both ways: usually lighter, as there is no surgery. Request help if you normally use it.
At Antalya airport
When you request assistance through your airline, it should be arranged at both ends of the journey. On arrival in Antalya, the clinic's driver will usually meet you in the arrivals hall. Tell the clinic if you are using assistance, as it can take a little longer to come through, and the driver will wait. On the way home, the transfer drops you at departures, and the airline's assistance team takes over from check-in.
Connecting flights and winter routes
In winter there are fewer direct flights to Antalya, and some patients connect through Istanbul. A connection makes assistance more important, not less: you change terminals or gates, sometimes with a long walk, and there is less time to recover between flights. If you have a connection, tell the airline when you request help so it is arranged at the transfer airport as well, allow a generous connection time, and keep your boarding passes for both flights to hand. On the way home after surgery, a direct flight is worth paying a little more for if one is available.
Wheelchairs, walking aids and medical equipment
If you use your own wheelchair, scooter or walking frame, tell the airline when you book. Mobility equipment is usually carried free, but battery-powered chairs have specific rules, and the airline needs details in advance. Walking sticks can normally be taken into the cabin. If you use a CPAP machine for sleep apnoea, or other medical equipment, ask the airline about carrying it in the cabin, and tell the clinic too, since it matters if sedation is planned.
Speaking after surgery
After implant surgery, speaking can be awkward for a few days. Carry a printed note with your flight details, the assistance you booked and a line explaining that you have had dental surgery and may be hard to understand. Showing a note is easier than explaining at every desk. If you use a hidden disability lanyard, wear it; staff at many airports recognise it.
Keeping moving even with assistance
Using a wheelchair or buggy through the airport does not mean you should sit still for the whole journey. The NHS advises moving around regularly on journeys of four hours or more to reduce the risk of a blood clot, and recent surgery and age over 60 both raise that risk. If you can stand and walk a little, do so at the gate and on the plane. See blood clots and flying after surgery.
If the help does not arrive
Most of the time assistance works smoothly, but delays happen at busy times. If you are waiting longer than expected, tell airline staff at the gate or check-in desk. If you are unhappy with the service at a UK airport, you can complain to the airport or airline, and the CAA explains how to take a complaint further. Keep your booking confirmation showing that you requested help.
Tips from the trip home
- Travel as light as you can; a small wheeled cabin bag is easier than a holdall.
- Keep medicines, aftercare instructions, a water bottle and a straw in your hand luggage.
- Wear slip-on shoes for security.
- Charge your phone so you can message the clinic or family if there is a delay.
- Arrange for someone to meet you at the UK airport if you can.
At Precious Dental airport transfers are included in the package. Let us know if you are using airport assistance or a wheelchair, and we will make sure the driver knows and the hotel is suitable.
If you are helping someone else
Adult children often book flights for a parent. If you are doing so, request the assistance in the parent's name, add a mobile number that will be answered on the day, and print the confirmation for them. If you are not travelling together, ask a friend or relative to meet them at the UK airport on the way home from the first trip. Our article on helping a parent plan All-on-6 has more.
Do not be shy about asking
Many people who would benefit from airport assistance never request it because they feel they are not “disabled enough”. The service exists for anyone who finds the airport difficult, and the return flight after implant surgery is exactly the moment it is designed for. Book it once, for the flight home from the first trip, and you will probably wonder why you ever hesitated.
Common questions
Do I need to be disabled to get airport assistance?
No formal disability is needed. Assistance is for anyone with reduced mobility or a condition that makes parts of the airport journey difficult, including older people who cannot walk long distances or stand for long.
Is airport assistance free?
Yes. At UK airports and on flights from the UK it is provided free of charge. Ask your airline when you book.
How far in advance should I request it?
At least 48 hours before the flight, and ideally when you book. You can still ask on the day, but help may take longer to arrange.
Will I get help at Antalya airport too?
When you request assistance through your airline, it should be arranged for both departure and arrival airports. Confirm with the airline that it covers your return flight from Antalya.
Can my companion stay with me?
Usually yes. Tell the airline if someone is travelling with you; they can normally accompany you through the assisted route.
Sources
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: accessible travel and special assistance
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: health guidance for passengers
- NHS: deep vein thrombosis, long journeys
Checked October 2026. Where we give our own view as a clinic, we say so.
Thinking about the trip?
Tell us where you're flying from and what you'd like done. A patient coordinator replies in plain English, and will say so honestly if travelling isn't the right step for you.