[Ammi]

One of India’s biggest airlines, IndiGo, has unveiled a feature that allows female passengers to avoid sitting beside men. The carrier, which operates more than 2,000 domestic and international flights per day in the country, hopes that the new option will make flights more comfortable and secure for women.
The unprecedented move is set to take effect starting August 2024, and it will allow the gender of the person sitting next to each passenger to be disclosed exclusively to female customers, allowing them to specifically request seats beside each other.

The initiative is the first of its type in the aircraft world and was made after the company conducted a survey asking female customers to express which measures would make travel more comfortable for them.
IndiGo is specifically a low-cost carrier, which means their flights come with smaller seat spaces compared to more expensive alternatives. This, coupled with the rising cost of tickets all around the world, has made the need for comfort in economy flights more important than ever, especially when it comes to women who, according to studies, are more sensitive than men to the reduction in space.

The option will be made available to all flights booked online and will take place during the check-in process. Once the identity of the buying passenger is confirmed, the feature will show both the seats available and the gender of the customers who bought them, allowing women to make an informed decision on the matter.
IndiGo expects the change will make flights safer and more comfortable for women, especially those traveling on their own and minors.
“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,” said the company in a statement to CNN.

For more than a decade, suburban trains, such as the Mumbai Metro and Delhi Metro, have offered compartments specifically designated for female passengers.
During peak hours, these services also dedicate entire carriages to female passengers. The success of these trains has inspired similar initiatives in other public transportation systems, such as buses and taxis.
Other countries have implemented similar measures, such as Japan, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil, and the Philippines, which also offer similar gender-exclusive transportation safety protocols in an effort to protect women from being harassed or groped due to the high volume of passengers during peak hours.


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