Low-cost Indian airline IndiGo has become the first to allow women to choose the gender of the person they sit next to.
Female travellers checking in online will be able to see which adjacent seat has been booked by another female passenger. Men booking flights will not be able to see the gender of the people in the seats.
The decision was the result of an IndiGo survey looking at how travel can be made more comfortable for women.
IndiGo is one of India’s largest airlines with more than 2000 domestic and international flights every day. The initiative has a proposed start date of August 2024.
Women-only travel is not a new concept in India. For years India’s train networks have allowed women to travel amongst other women. All long-distance train services have women-only compartments. In Mumbai, commuter trains also have compartments just for women.
Other countries – such as Japan – also have female-only carriages.
The news comes as sexual assaults on airplanes are reported to be on the rise.
In April, the FBI issued a warning about the issue stating that 96 cases relating to sexual assault on an aircraft were opened in the US last year.
Often the victim is a solo female traveller or an unaccompanied minor or teenager who may feel too shamed or scared to challenge the predator or alert airline staff.
Source TravelWeekly