Indian airline leads with gender-segregated seating for women's safety

Indian airline IndiGo takes the safety of women travelling by plane seriously. The company's owners have proposed a solution that allows travellers to choose the gender of the person they will sit next to for the journey.

For many women, travelling by public transport means unpleasant experiences related to the behaviour of fellow passengers. Unrefined comments or unwanted touches happen on trains, buses, or planes more often than one would like to admit. It is no surprise that some women prefer to pay for an extra ticket rather than sit next to an unknown man. Such decisions can be motivated by fear stemming from previous traumatic experiences or a desire to ensure psychological comfort.

IndiGo Airlines is the first to propose a solution to significantly increase the comfort and sense of security for women travelling on its planes. The new policy allows female passengers to choose the gender of the person who will travel next to them. The solution will be implemented from August 2024 on all flights of India's largest airline. IndiGo operates 2,000 domestic and international flights daily. Consequently, many female passengers travel alone or only with children. They can choose seats next to other women to ensure their safety and psychological comfort.

Notably, men do not have access to the new solution. They can check the number of free seats but not the gender of their fellow passengers. This is to protect women travelling alone. An IndiGo Airlines representative said in a statement to CNN: "IndiGo is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature that aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers. This has been introduced based on market research, and is currently in pilot mode aligning with our #GirlPower ethos. We are committed to providing an unparalleled travel experience for all our passengers, and this new feature is just one of the many steps we are taking towards achieving that goal."

Although IndiGo Airlines is the first to allow women to check the gender of their travel companions, the solution itself is used in India on trains and buses. Female travellers can book tickets for public transport next to other women, increasing their sense of safety.