A pre-booked wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) airport taxi service across all five London airports plus cruise ports. Side-loading ramp, four-point tie-downs, disability-awareness trained drivers, room for 1 wheelchair user plus up to 3 ambulant companions. Same fixed fare as our standard service tier — no surcharge for wheelchair use.
These are the questions customers normally want answered before they confirm an airport booking. The aim is to help you choose the right service quickly, not bury you in generic information.
For airport drop-offs and collections, the correct terminal matters. It helps us plan the right route, forecourt access and handover point before the driver is assigned.
Your quote depends on the route, time, vehicle size and any applicable airport access charges shown for that journey. The amount shown before checkout is the figure you can book against.
If you are being collected from the airport, include the flight number. That allows arrival monitoring and helps reduce avoidable waiting problems if the flight lands early or late.
A saloon may be fine for light travel, but families, golf bags, pushchairs or extra suitcases are usually better in an Estate, MPV or 8-seater.
Ready to book? Use the live quote form to see the current fare before checkout.
Airport-rank taxi queues are not configured for wheelchair use — most ranks at Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted operate first-come-first-served with a mix of saloon and estate cars that can't accommodate a powered chair or four-point tie-down. Pre-booking a WAV is the only reliable way to guarantee the right vehicle is at the right meeting point at the right minute.
Our WAV bookings typically split across four traveller groups: long-haul international arrivals on Virgin Atlantic, BA and Emirates needing onward transport from Heathrow T3/T5 arrivals; outbound charter passengers from Gatwick North on TUI, EasyJet Holidays and Jet2 with reduced-mobility holidays; visiting hospital consultants and outpatient appointment transfers between home addresses and the South East NHS network; and care-home / supported-living residents on planned trips. All four streams need the same operational basics — secure boarding, trained drivers, no surcharge, real-time flight tracking.
Mercedes Vito and Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Life WAVs with side-loading ramps (low-angle, single-section), four-point tie-down systems (UN ECE R107 certified), pre-stretchable seatbelts, and a wheelchair envelope up to 1300×1800×950mm. Fits standard NHS chairs, powered chairs and most Class 3 scooters.
Drivers nominated for WAV runs hold a current Disability Awareness certificate covering safe loading, ramp deployment, tie-down technique, communication with hearing/visual impairment, and PRM (Passenger with Reduced Mobility) airline-assistance hand-over protocol. Three Rivers Council disability training also baseline.
The fixed fare for a WAV is the same as our standard saloon-tier fare. No additional charge for ramp use, no premium for extra loading time, no "mobility supplement". Per the Equality Act 2010, charging a higher fare for wheelchair use would be unlawful — and it's also the wrong thing to do regardless of the regulation.
Standard 5-minute kerbside loading is extended to 15-20 minutes for WAV bookings — ramp deployment, chair positioning, four-point tie-down securing, seatbelt application and luggage stow. Same at airport drop-off. 45-min free waiting time on inbound airport collection still applies, clocked from actual touchdown.
WAV transfers to and from Watford General, Hillingdon, Mount Vernon, Harefield Hospital (specialist cardiothoracic), Royal Brompton, Royal Free, Great Ormond Street, Charing Cross, Royal Marsden Sutton. Patient transport between home and outpatient appointments, day-case collections and inter-hospital transfers.
Confirming chair envelope at booking is the single most important step — it determines which WAV is allocated and whether a Class 3 scooter needs tiller folding for boarding. Standard maximums shown; bespoke larger-envelope vehicles available on request.
| Spec | Standard WAV | Bariatric / XL WAV (on request) |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair width | up to 1300mm | up to 1700mm |
| Wheelchair length | up to 1800mm | up to 2100mm |
| Wheelchair height | up to 950mm | up to 1100mm |
| Combined chair + occupant weight | up to 200kg | up to 350kg |
| Ramp angle | under 12° (gentle low-angle) | under 10° (extra-low) |
| Tie-down system | 4-point UN ECE R107 certified | 4-point reinforced |
| Passenger capacity (besides chair user) | up to 3 ambulant companions | up to 5 companions |
| Standard powered chairs accommodated | Quickie Q500/Q700, Karma Star, Pride Jazzy, Invacare Pronto | All standard + bariatric Sunrise Quickie Q700M, Permobil M3 Corpus |
| Mobility scooter compatibility | Class 2 + Class 3 (tiller folded) | Class 3 (tiller intact) |
| Advance notice for booking | 24 hours recommended | 48 hours recommended |
Airport arrivals with mobility requirements need a different choreography. Here's the meeting protocol we follow on every WAV inbound across Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City.
Section 165 of the Equality Act 2010 places a positive duty on PHV operators to carry a wheelchair user in their chair, without surcharge, where the vehicle is designated as wheelchair-accessible. We comply fully — the WAV fare matches our standard tier with no premium. Drivers refusing a WAV booking on grounds of wheelchair use (without genuine medical exemption certificate) commit a criminal offence under s.166. We have never had a refusal complaint in our operating history.
Our PHV operator licence is issued by Three Rivers District Council. All drivers hold Private Hire Driver Licences with mandatory safeguarding and disability-awareness training. Vehicle insurance is held to local-authority hire-and-reward standard including specific WAV coverage. Reasonable adjustments for assistance dogs (no additional fee, all drivers accept assistance dogs), visually impaired travellers (driver provides spoken-arrival announcements), and hearing-impaired travellers (SMS confirmation of all timings) are standard practice.
Call 01923 88 2424 to confirm WAV availability for your slot, or book online via the homepage widget. 24-hour advance notice recommended.
Call 01923 88 2424Vehicle specs, booking process, airport meet & greet, hospital transfers