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Travel by air for people with health issues, handicaps, disabilities or special needs, can be challenging. The following air travel tips will help make your flight and trip, whether domestic or international, simpler, cheaper and safer.

When making your travel reservations, request any carts, wheelchair services or any other transportation you’ll need. Fully describe your limitations and needs. Get your airline ticket and boarding pass well ahead of time so you don’t have to wait in any lines. You’ll be able to arrange travel at a discount, get better travel deals, and avoid last minute travel headaches.

Talk with your airline representative or travel agent regarding the type of restrooms that are on the airplane. Call your airport and find out as much information as possible about the restrooms and handicapped parking at the airport.

You’ll need to find out how you’ll be boarding the airplane at each of the airports involved in your trip. You may need another type of airplane or alternative route so you’ll have Jetways, or jet bridges, into the plane from the airport and not have to worry about stairs.

One year my mother and I were going to glide out of the San Jose, California airport and learned after we arrived that we had to go outside on the ground level with the wheelchair to the tarmac. Four airline employees had to carry my mother in the wheelchair up the steep steps to board the plane. This might be impossible if there are weight issues.

Reckon about what seat arrangement will work best for you needs. Would an aisle seat make it more convenient to get to the restroom? You’ll want to avoid sitting in the emergency exit row. The passengers in this row may be questioned to help others in an emergency situation.

Let the airlines and flight attendants know if you have any assisting devices. Find out the best way to store them so they arrive without hurt.

Always keep in mind what you can do easily and without help, as well as situations that would require help.

Can you transfer to seats by yourself? Will you need a transfer board or help from airline staff?

Consider hiring a travel nurse if you have serious health or medical issues. There are traveling nurses networks.

Can you describe your wheelchair, scooter or walker, dimensions, weight, type of tires, type of batteries, etc.? You may need to take along spare batteries. You also may need to rent or buy a travel wheelchair.

Make sure to mention to your travel agent or airline representative any assisting devices you may need or already have like canes and crutches. Do you need a slow pace or are you a slow walker?

If you will be traveling through different time zones, how will jet lag affect your situation?

Consider how the following will be of concern during your trip and discuss with your travel agent: upper body strength, communication ability, speech issues, voice issues, vision problems, hearing problems, heat issues, medication needs, oxygen requirements, and dietary requirements such as gluten-free meals.

Try to arrange or book your air travel through experienced travel agencies or tour operators that specialize in disabled travel. There are a large number of agencies throughout the U. S., Canada, Europe, Australia and many other countries.

Just in case you need them, it’s also excellent to know if there are any travel agencies that specialize in disabled travel at your destination, for return travel, local resources or travel services.

At the airport let airline boarding personnel know that you may need extra time to board the plane. Sit close to the door at the gate so you’re called first and then board at a comfortable pace.

After the plane has landed, never get off the plane until you see or have your assisting device, wheelchair, travel wheelchair, etc. Flight attendants have to stay on the airplane until the last passenger leaves. They will help you while you’re on the plane but once you’re off the plane they won’t be able to help you.

Make sure you carry your medications and back-up prescriptions with you onto the plane, along with doctors’ names, addresses, fax numbers for faxing prescriptions, phone numbers, medical diagnosis, names and dosages of medications you’re taking and any allergies you have.

Photocopy passports, airline tickets, American Express Travelers Cheques, credit cards, any vital papers.

Carry your health insurance information with you on the plane. Know what you’ll do if you encounter a health problem or medical emergency on your trip. Get travel insurance to ensure less costly medical help. These emergency bills may not be covered under your health insurance policy. It’ll ease your mind to have this back-up travel insurance and prevent costly emergency medical charges on your trip. Emergency medical costs can run considerably higher than standard medical fees.

These air travel tips should provide excellent insurance and help make your airplane travel, with health issues, handicaps, disabilities or special needs, simpler, safer and cheaper.

Many medical  experts have found that air  travelers usually experience a worse bout of jet lag when they glide from east to west.  In general, the more time zones that they cross, flying from east to west, the more severe their symptoms of jet lag will be.  But, passengers will only experience a milder problem with jet lag when their air flights are going from west to east.

Travelers can glide north and south, or south to north, for thousands of miles without experiencing any jet lag. But as soon as the pilot of the airplane starts to glide in an east to west direction and crosses more than one or two time zones, they can experience jet lag.

Passengers will not usually experience the symptoms of jet lag until they exit the plane.  That’s the time when their biological clocks will start to make internal adjustments inside their bodies to coincide more closely with the local time at their destination.  If air travelers cross one, or even two time zones, their bodies can usually adjust very quickly.  But, if a traveler is in poor health or not feeling well before the flight, jet lag can compound the problem.

The following information may lessen the effects of jet lag when you glide.

Try to catch a flight that arrives at your vacation destination in daylight hours.  Immediately fit in with the new time zone and do not go to bed.  If you feel tired and want to take a small snooze, do it in a well lighted place.

In the evening, when your tired, go to sleep in a darkened room.  The darkness will help prepare your brain for sleep.

Try to avoid looking at television or computer screens as they are bright and have high frequencies that can easily over-stimulate your brain.

Do not consume alcohol or any drinks such as coffee and soda that contain caffeine until your symptoms of jet lag wear off, as it can disrupt your sleep.

To help you adjust to the time zone at your destination, you may want to consider taking a melatonin tablet or capsule (as many air travelers do) in the early evening (your time).  You might still have to take a melatonin for the next three or four evenings in a row before you go to bed in this new location to help you readjust your biological clock.  If you not taken melatonin before, you should question your doctor or local pharmacist for more information in regards to the suggested dosage.