In a world first, an airline has announced it will change a basic procedure for women passengers on its flights. Sorry, men, that’s not in your plans.
Indian travellers faced continued flight delays on Saturday (July 20), a day after a security software update glitch knocked out global computer systems for hours, affecting several airlines worldwide.
IndiGo will make the change from August, when female pilots Women will be allowed to book seats next to other women if they do not want a man next to them. They will be able to check the gender of the passenger seated next to them before booking.
However, this change will not apply to men. When booking their flights, men will not be able to see the gender of their seatmate, and will only be able to view available seats.
The low-cost airline is a codeshare partner with Qantas, and Australian passengers fly on its flights to destinations such as India, as well as within the country.
The idea of changing the passenger seat came from a survey conducted by IndiGo where they asked females what would make travelling more comfortable.
The airline has made a change. Image: iStock
IndiGo is proud to announce a new feature aimed at making the travel experience more convenient for our female passengers.
“We are committed to providing an unparalleled travel experience for all of our passengers, and this new feature is just one of the many steps we are taking to achieve that goal.”
This step will be offered as a trial at first.
In India, there are women-only compartments on long-distance trains, as well as on suburban trains in the capital Mumbai. And it’s not the only country to segregate the sexes – Japan and Iran have similar arrangements on public transport.
Assaults on flights do happen, and women are particularly vulnerable. An FBI report in April warned that sexual assaults on flights are on the rise, with 96 cases reported in the United States by 2023.
The report stated that men are the usual perpetrators, and women and unaccompanied minors are the victims.
Cheerful female passenger holding smartphone and smiling while sitting on passenger seat of airplane
The FBI advises passengers to be aware of their surroundings and take precautions to stay safe, including keeping the armrest open between you and your seatmate and asking to change seats if the passenger next to you engages in behavior that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, in Australia, during the 2022/23 Christmas and school holiday travel period, the Australian Federal Police brought 69 charges against nearly 50 travellers at major airports.
There have been mixed reactions on social media over IndiGo’s attempt to make female passengers feel safer.
One commentator wrote: XWhy don’t they assign the left side to one gender and the right side to another?
While another said: “This is complete nonsense.”
A third wrote: “How will the computer know the baby’s gender, what if they tricked him!”
There was also concern about how to get good seats: “Almost all the seats available will be average seats.”
Meanwhile, a man protested, “What if I don’t want to sit next to her? It works both ways.”
While others praised it, describing it as a “great initiative.”
IndiGo operates over 2000 domestic and international flights daily and is the largest airline in India.
