As one of the world’s leading accessible travel bloggers, Cory Lee shines a light on the practicalities of travelling with a disability. As a friend of Skyscanner, we asked him to share his top tips to make travel easier and more accessible for everyone.
Accessible travel: top 3 tips
- Pre-plan: I need to think about EVERYTHING as a wheelchair user. [Such as] whether the destination has accessible transportation so that I can easily manoeuvre around, [as well as] accommodation that has accessible activities and is welcoming to wheelchair users.
- Be patient: When travelling, one of the most important things to take with you is ‘patience’. Sometimes travelling might not go exactly as planned but being patient and explaining exactly what you need in a nice and calm manner can go a long way.
- Have fun!: Travel means the freedom to explore the world and gives me the happiness and joy of experiencing new things. I couldn’t recommend it enough!
Travelling with a wheelchair
Wheelchairs and mobility devices give people the freedom to move around, live their lives and travel more freely. They have a hugely positive impact and are extremely precious cargo for any disabled traveller.
With the experience of travelling to over 39 countries with the support of his wheelchair, Wheelchair Accessible Travel Expert, Cory Lee, shares his practical tips on how best to protect wheelchairs from any damage during a flight:
- Set wheelchair to manual: If a powered wheelchair, set the wheelchair to manual so that airport staff can easily push it.
- Comfort is key: Take the cushion off the wheelchair and place it on the plane seat for extra comfort.
- Protect your wheelchair: Flip footrests up and bubblewrap the joystick (if your wheelchair has one) to make sure the wheelchair doesn’t get damaged if it hits anything in the hold.
- Share the details: Print out a sheet with all of the details about the wheelchair including wheelchair dimensions, contacts details and how best to store the wheelchair in the hold.
For a handy video guide on how to protect your wheelchair, Check out Cory’s helpful reel on Instagram.
About Cory Lee:
Cory Lee is a Wheelchair Accessible Travel Expert, based in the US, who has travelled to all 7 continents and over 39 countries using his wheelchair. As one of the world’s leading accessible travel bloggers, Cory is passionate about sharing his experiences as disabled traveller. His goal is to show disabled travellers how to travel, where to travel and, most importantly, why travel as person with a disability.
At age of two, Cory was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and, at the age of four, Cory got his first powered wheelchair and took his first trip to Walt Disney World. A trip to the Bahamas, at the age of 15, was his first international trip, sparking a life-long love of travel and the beginning of his journey towards his career as an award-winning content creator.
Our commitment
Skyscanner’s Accessibility Lead, Heather Hepburn, says:
“Through our Accessibility Programme at Skyscanner, we’re determined to continue to improve accessibility and inclusive design across all Skyscanner products; ensuring that digital accessibility is embedded into Skyscanner’s tools, processes, and ways of working. Alongside raising accessibility awareness and improving advocacy across the business, it’s our mission to make travel better for everyone.
“Since 2021, we have been proud to be part of the Valuable 500, and the global collective of businesses, innovating together for disability inclusion. We’re delighted to partner with Wheelchair Accessibility Travel Experts, like Cory Lee, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day (and all year round) to share accessible travel tips and better serve all travellers’ needs.
