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Travel advice

Having a stoma should not prevent you from travelling at home or abroad. The important thing is to plan ahead and be prepared. Take plenty of supplies and always make sure that you carry an emergency travel kit in case you need to change your bag away from home.

If you would like to talk to someone who has lived experience of travelling with a stoma please do call our Stoma Helpline 0800 328 4257.

We can offer comprehensive travel advice to help you and lots of useful information is contained in our Travel Advice booklet and in the resources below. We’ve also put together a handy travel checklist. You may find our  travel certificate useful, which explains to the security staff what a stoma is and what your supplies look like. It is endorsed by the Civil Aviation Authority and you can download it here.

Air Travel
Airports are increasingly offering accessible support, so it is worth visiting your airport’s website well in advance of travel to find out what help is available. Further information can be found on the links.

In partnership with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Queen Elizabeth Foundation, Colostomy UK and our ambassador Iffy produced the following video that gives information and insights for people living with a stoma and traveling by air.

Heathrow 
London Gatwick
Manchester Airport

We are actively working with a number of major UK Airports including  Bristol, Bournemouth, Cardiff,  Heathrow, Gatwick, London Stansted, Luton and Manchester to increase awareness and recognition of the needs of travellers with hidden conditions. We are members of their accessibility forums, influencing change and training airport staff.

We also work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA,) and Libby Herbert our CEO is a member of their Access to Travel panel, aiming to positively influence all future guidance that is issued to Airports and Airlines.

If you want to make your organisation more accessible we will happily work with you and advise on a particular issue  or training requirement. Please call us on 0118 939 1537 or e-mail hello@colostomyuk.org in the first instance.

You can find out more about this on our campaigns page  and in the following article –Have bag, can travel

Useful travel links

Driving Mobility (supported by the Department for Transport), provides driving assessments and guidance for people with disabilities so they can gain or maintain independence and inclusion:

Hubs Mobility Advice Service is a free information and guidance service on the best accessible travel options for you.

Insurance
A comprehensive list of travel insurance providers can be found below in our downloadable resources.

Downloadable Resources