We were at TFS with a friend who needed a wheelchair and as far as I remember the service was good. We opted to push her round the airport ourselves then a member of the airport staff took over and she was boarded very early.

On arrival they will meet you at the plane and leave you where the luggage carousels are, on the way back, they will pick you up at check in point and take you to the plane....

Hope that helps

When you fly from/to Palma, Malaga, etc there is a wheelchair assistance where you go to and then someone comes with a wheelchair and eventually take you onto the plane, is it the same there as years ago you had to walk to check in, which can be a long walk, and wait for someone to come along with a chair, which was over 30mins last time and that is whats putting me off because my disability has gone worse since we where last there

Thank you for your help/replys

I can't compare TFS with Palma or Malaga as I've never used either with my mother, who needs such assistance, but it is as good or better than you get at most airports in the UK.

We've used it a number of times at TFS and the drill on arrival is that you're asked to wait and leave the plane last. The wheelchair assistance is waiting at the plane door, they take you to the luggage reclaim and then out through immigration and, in our case, through to the exit nearest the taxi rank where they call over a taxi and help you into it. My mother gets embarrassed by the queue jumping aspect of this but the assistance staff have always been adamant that this is what she's entitled to and won't let us join the often huge queues at the taxi rank. We only use TFS on our way to La Gomera so always just get an ordinary taxi down to the port at Los Christianos but I assume that if you need it they will instead take you to a transfer coach etc instead.

On the way home, on our last couple of trips the taxi drivers told us that they would wait with my mother in the taxi whilst I went to the central assistance desk to let them know that we'd arrived and someone then came back out to the taxi with the wheelchair to collect her. Again, to my mother's embarassment, we were taken straight to the front of the check-in queues and then fast-tracked through security on a route reserved for disabled passengers and parents with children in buggies. The assistance staff then left us where we wanted (usually where we could get something to eat) and arranged when they would come back to meet us there and see us onto the plane. We have then always been boarded first and seen to our seats before the other passengers were boarded with a variety of airlines.

The service at TFS has greatly improved over the years (we did have a few hiccoughs in the early days - but then we did with UK airports too until things settled down and they got systems in place to comply with the law) and I don't think that it can be faulted now. Next time we go we might well take her electric scooter with us now that she has one and I'd be interested in hearing about people's experiences at TFS when taking their own mobility equipment with them.

SM

Hi sma, I have never took a scooter before but I do take my own wheelchair and depending on which company you use Its either brought to the plane in the ambilift or put on the carousel. Jet 2 and Thomson have always brought it to me but Thomas Cook always put it on the carousel and bring an airport wheelchair to the plane, which if you're a large lady like me is totally useless as the airport wheelchairs are far too small. I have seen people on scooters and they are taken to the ambilift or tunnel in them .I hope this helps.

just got this reply from orange badge, who supply wheelchairs, scooters, tranfers etc

There has been a vast improvement made atTenerife South airport for disabled travelers – there is now a company (calledClece) which takes care of wheelchair users, (or those people who just needhelp with the distances involved) – they give assistance from the plane uponarrival here, right through baggage reclaim and into the Main Arrivals Hall –where our staff can take over. For your departure, our staff take you to theirdesk in the departure hall, where you switch to one of their wheelchairs, andthey help you to check in and through to boarding the plane. You must pre bookthis assistance through your airline and explain what your needs are, and theywill do the rest.

We've been there last year. As far as I recall the service at Tenerife south airport was good. They gave quality assistance to my uncle who is on the wheelchair because of his illness.

A couple of years ago we saw a lady who had wheelchair access at Manchester and given early boarding (no queuing of course) and saw her again at Tenerife airport being wheeled around in an airport wheelchair and a member of staff to push her around, get her case from the carosel and carry it for her. Her partner by her side through all of this.

The following day, clearly a miriclle had happened overnight and there she was walking unaided in Los Cristianos carrying her 2 bags of shopping. I presume her partner was oiling her wheelchair !

Aargh! That sort of behaviour really gets my goat! My mother was extremely reluctant to let me book assistance for her for a long time because she could 'walk' - but only with the aid of 2 sticks and very slowly with the result that travelling anywhere by plane was always an exhausting experience for her. And me by the time I'd helped her up and down steps etc and manhandled our luggage - at 84 yrs himself my father couldn't manage more than carrying his own case. She was always worried that people would think she was a malingerer and I had to work ahrd to persuade her that she was entitled to assistance as a legal right - she has a 'blue card', is registered disabled and in receipt of an attendance care allowance. And then you hear stories like this of people exploiting the system.

Whilst I welcome the trusting and generally unbureaucratic nature of the assistance system there are times when I think that perhaps people requesting it should be required to provide some sort of proof that they really do need it and it would cut down this sort of abuse. It costs airlines a lot to have to provide it - if abuse of it starts to become widespread there's the chance that they'll to try avoid having to provide it for anyone. and that would signal the end of my mother being able to take holidays anywhere by plane.

SM

I thought the same thing SMa. It really gets my back up too & knowing me, I'd have had to have said something to the woman.

We didnt need to say anything to her - having seen us she appeared to remember us from the flight.

We were so surprised (and speechless) maybe our open mouthed expression said it all.

Chris

When I requested assistance for my MIL, I had to give her blue badge number. I think this might have been with Airtours or Thomsons.

That's interesting to know, Luci, sounds as if they might be getting wise to some people trying to pull a fast one. We have never used either Thomsons or Airtours since we started booking assistance because we usually use scheduled carriers and do DIY rather than booking packages when we go away together to the Canaries. Sounds as if I need to make a note of her blue badge number and keep it with their passoprt details etc just in case I am asked for it next time. It's a bit off-topic but I've never been asked for any proof when requesting assistance on the trains for here either. Though these days, the fact that I always request seat reservations for them where there'll be a space for the electric scooter probably makes it clear that she has only limited mobility :-)

SM

to complete the picture we were flying with Easyjet when our lady (?) 'got up and walked'

keep getting a new post showing when I've seen this 20 times..anybody else getting the same.

yes ray388 me too.

Only just found this thread but found all your tips really useful, and lets see what the service is like a year on from your reviews!