Persons with Reduced Mobility Regulation 

The overall objective of the Ministry of Infrastructure Regulation no. 02/2013 (Regulation 1107/2006 of the EU) on the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when traveling by air is to provide persons with reduced mobility opportunities for air travel comparable to those of other citizens. It aims to standardise the assistance to persons with reduced mobility at airports and on board aircraft

Ministry of Infrastructure is the National Enforcement Body (NEB) for this Regulation in the Republic of Kosovo. Each European Union Member State is required to designate an NEB as the responsible authority for the enforcement of the Regulation within its jurisdiction, and a full list of these bodies in the EU may be found here: Full list of NEB's  

To whom does the Regulation apply?

The provisions of the Regulation apply to Persons with Reduced Mobility departing from, arriving to or transiting through an airport in the European Common Aviation Area (Republic of Kosovo, EU Member States, and will also in time apply to all other ECAA members) on a commercial air service.

The rights set down in respect of prevention of refusal of carriage (except in limited circumstances) and the right to assistance by air carriers shall also apply to passengers departing from an airport outside of the ECAA to an ECAA member, if the carrier is an ECAA licensed airline.  

This Ministry deals with complaints regarding the assistance provided to persons with reduced mobility at airports in the Republic of Kosovo as well as complaints relating to the care and assistance received whilst on-board an airline which is licensed in the Republic of Kosovo. 

Who qualifies as a disabled person or person with reduced mobility for the purpose of this Regulation?

Article 2(a) of the Regulation states the following: "a disabled person or person with reduced mobility means any person whose mobility when using transport is reduced due to any physical disability (sensory or locomotor, permanent or temporary), intellectual disability or impairment, or any other cause of disability, or age, and whose situation needs appropriate attention and the adaption to his or her particular needs of the service made available to all passengers".

How can the assistance set out in this Regulation be obtained?

Passengers with reduced mobility who require assistance under this Regulation should inform their airline at least 48 hours prior to their intended departure. The assistance specified in this Regulation must be provided free of charge. 

What level of assistance will be provided?

Assistance should be given to disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility to enable them proceed from a designated point of arrival at an airport to their aircraft and from their aircraft to a designated point of departure at the airport. This facility should also include the assistance necessary for embarkation, disembarkation and transiting through an airport.

Further information on the designated points of arrival at the airport can be obtained by viewing the relevant website or calling the airport.

What does the Regulation do?

The Regulation sets out rights for Persons with Reduced Mobility. These rights can be summarised under 4 main headings:

• Refusal of Carriage 

• Right to assistance at airports

• Right to assistance by air carriers 

• Compensation for lost or damaged wheelchairs, mobility equipment or assistive devices  

For more information on your rights and entitlements please follow the above links.

What should I do if I feel my Rights under this Regulation have not been respected by the airport or air carrier?

If you feel that you have a complaint under the Regulation, you should first seek to address the matter with the air carrier or airport concerned.

In the event that you are not satisfied with their response you may lodge a complaint with this Ministry or to the relevant national enforcement body. Please see our complaint procedure  section for more information.

Refusal of Carriage

Under the terms of Regulation no 02/2013 an air carrier or its agent shall not refuse, on the grounds of disability or of reduced mobility:

• to accept a reservation for a flight departing from or arriving at an airport within a member state; or 

• to embark a disabled person or person with reduced mobility at such an airport, provided that the person concerned has a valid ticket and reservation. 

The regulation does, however, allow for some exceptions. An air carrier, its agent or a tour operator may refuse to accept a reservation from or to allow embarkation by a disabled person or a person with reduced mobility in the following circumstances:

• in order to meet applicable safety requirements established by law; or  

• if the size of the aircraft or its doors makes the embarkation or carriage of the disabled person or person of reduced mobility impossible. 

In these cases the air carrier, its agents or the tour operator shall immediately inform the disabled person or person with reduced mobility of the specific reason for their refusal.

On request the airline, agent or tour operator shall also communicate these reasons in writing to the passenger within 5 working days of the request.

It is also important to note that an air carrier, its agent or a tour operator may require that a disabled person or person with reduced mobility be accompanied by another person who is capable of providing the assistance required by that person. 

Airlines and tour operators shall also make publicly available, in accessible formats, the safety rules that it applies to the carriage of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility as well as any restrictions on their carriage or on the carriage of mobility equipment due to the size of the aircraft.

In the case of a refusal to accept a reservation from a disabled person or person with reduced mobility, the air carrier, its agents or the tour operator shall make reasonable efforts to propose an acceptable alternative to the passenger.

A disabled person or person with reduced mobility who has been denied embarkation on the grounds of their disability or reduced mobility and any person accompanying them to satisfy an airline’s requirements shall be offered the choice between:

• a full refund for the parts of the ticket not used at the price at which it was bought within 7 days; 

• re-routing under comparable transport conditions to a passenger’s final destination at the earliest opportunity; or 

• re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the passenger’s final destination at a later date at the passengers convenience, subject to the availability of seats. 

Assistance by Air Carriers

Regulation 02/2013 provides that disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility that are departing from an EU airport or arriving into an EU airport on an EU licensed carrier are entitled to specified levels of care and assistance by that air carrier. The Regulation stipulates that this assistance should be provided at no additional cost to the passenger.

Airlines must have the facility to:

• carry a recognised assistance dog within the cabin, subject to other relevant legislation and/or national rules;

• transport up to two pieces of mobility equipment per disabled person or person with reduced mobility, including electric wheelchairs (subject to advance warning of 48 hrs and to possible limitations of space on board the aircraft and subject to the application of relevant legislation on the carriage of dangerous goods) in addition to medical equipment;

• communicate necessary information concerning a flight in accessible formats to all disabled persons and persons of reduced mobility;

• make reasonable efforts to arrange seating on request and subject to safety requirements and availability so as to meet the needs of individuals with disability or reduced mobility;

• assist disabled persons or persons of reduced mobility in moving to the toilet facilities if required.

Request for assistance under this Regulation by the disabled person or person of reduced mobility should be notified to the airline, its agent or the tour operator at least 48hrs before departure. If no notification is given the airline shall make all reasonable efforts to provide assistance to allow the passenger to take their flight but the assistance cannot be guaranteed.

Where a disabled person or person of reduced mobility is assisted by an “accompanying person”, the air carrier will make all reasonable efforts to give that “accompanying person” a seat next to the disabled person or person with reduced mobility.

It is important to note that the above provisions for assistance and care shall apply on condition that the disabled person or person with reduced mobility presents themselves at check-in:

• at the time stipulated in advance and in writing by the air carrier, agent or tour operator; or

• if no time stipulated, not later than one hour before departure.

The disabled person or person with reduced mobility may also chose to present themselves at a designated point within the airport boundary:

• at the time stipulated in advance and in writing by the air carrier, agent or tour operator; or

• if no time stipulated, not later than two hours before departure.

The assistance provided shall, as far as possible, be appropriate to the particular needs of the individual passenger.

Compensation for Lost or Damaged Mobility Equipment and Assistive Devices

Where wheelchairs or other mobility equipment and assistive devices are lost or damaged whilst being handled at the airport or transported on board an aircraft, the passenger to whom the equipment belongs shall be compensated by the responsible party (i.e. the airport management body or the air carrier as appropriate) in accordance with rules of international, community and national law.

For the purposes of this Regulation wheelchairs and assistive devices are treated as baggage. As a result the limits on compensation for loss and damage are those set down under the Montréal Convention (made applicable in Kosovo through Article 91 of Law no 03/L-051 on Civil Aviation and  Regulation (MI) No 2008/4 on air carrier liability associated with the transportation of passengers and their baggage by air). Under the Montréal Convention compensation for lost or damaged personal baggage (which includes mobility equipment) is limited to 1,000 SDR (about 1,200 EUR). Additional cover may be needed.  

Where mobility equipment is damaged or lost the airport must provide a temporary replacement, albeit not necessarily on a like-for-like basis.

Complaint Procedure

If your complaint relates to the care and assistance received from an air carrier you must first contact the air carrier in question. If you need help finding the contact details of an air carriers please contact our Ministry and we will assist you or refer you to the relevant enforcement body as appropriate.

If your complaint relates to the care and assistance received at an airport you must first contact the airport. For the contact details of airports in Kosovo please see the respective section.

Complaints relating to airports outside of Kosovo should be directed to the enforcement body of the country where the airport is situated. For a full list of the other enforcement bodies in Europe please click here: EU/EEA Enforcement Bodies

Complaints relating to the assistance received on-board a flight should be directed to the enforcement body of the ECAA Member State from which the flight departed. However if the flight departed from a county which is not an ECAA Member State then complaints should be forwarded to the enforcement body of the Member State of arrival.

When submitting your complaint to this Ministry we would be obliged if you could complete our complaint form. To download the PDF version of the form please click here . Please also include copies of your correspondence with the air carrier or the airport and any other relevant information.

Complaints for the attention of the Ministry may be sent by email to AvioUdhetaret@rks-gov.org, fax +381 (0) 38 211 167, or by mail at the following address: 

Division of Civil Aviation 

Ministry of Infrastructure 

Gërmia Building 

10000 Prishtina

Kosovo

If you need further information please contact us at tel: 038 200 28 105 or if you are abroad: +381 38 200 28 105 from 08:15 to 15:45 CET.

Contact Information for airports in Kosovo 

Prishtina International Airport "Adem Jashari"

Tel: +386 49 784 369

http://www.airportpristina.com

Air carriers operating at PIA Adem Jashari

Please see the PIA page for the list of air carriers operating at PIA.

Persons with Reduced Mobility - Complaint Form