The Canadian Transportation Agency has told Canadian airline WestJet to discontinue its 300-lb. (136 kg) weight limit for passengers’ mobility devices, multiple Canadian news outlets reported on Aug. 20.
News agencies including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported that the Canadian Transportation Agency told WestJet to lift the weight limit before July 2027.
WestJet’s regulations listed on its website prohibit wheelchairs and scooters weighing more than 300 lbs. on its Boeing 737 and De Haviland Dash 8-400 aircraft. Additionally, wheelchairs traveling as bulk baggage on WestJet’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft could not weigh more than 300 lbs., though the airline has a higher weight limit (up to 500 lbs./227 kg) for a wheelchair preloaded into a container.
Mobility advocates noted that many Group 3 power wheelchairs exceed that 300-lb. weight limit. In November 2025, Jason Kelln, ATP, CRTS — president of the International Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers (iNRRTS) and sales manager of Prairie Heart Mobility in Regina, Saskatchewan — contacted WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech to share why he was concerned over wheelchairs with complex seating and positioning being prohibited.
“Power wheelchairs are engineered to provide robust mobility solutions for people with severe impairments,” Kelln said in the letter. “Features like power seating adjustments, tilt in space, recline functions, and complex pressure management systems, while essential for comfort and medical safety, contribute substantially to the overall weight of these devices. As a result, power wheelchairs are significantly heavier than manual wheelchairs.”
CBC coverage added that the Canadian Transportation Agency advised WestJet “should use ‘spreader plates’ to better distribute the wheelchair’s weight in the cargo hold and arrange alternative travel with other airlines until then.”
