India’s largest budget airline, IndiGo, has introduced a new booking feature allowing female passengers to avoid sitting next to male travelers on flights. The option, which has been in testing since May, lets women select seats marked in pink, indicating they will be occupied by other female passengers. This feature is only visible to women, and male passengers cannot see this information. IndiGo’s system requires passengers to state their gender during booking to enable this option.
The initiative has received mixed reactions online. IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, mentioned to CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that the feedback has been largely positive, with strong support from customers both locally and internationally.
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While some users on social media platforms like X and Reddit have praised the feature for addressing their discomfort in past seating arrangements, others have criticized it as discriminatory. Critics have raised concerns about how the airline will address cases where male passengers identify as female.
IndiGo defended the feature, saying it aims to make flying more comfortable for female passengers, though the company did not comment on whether recent incidents of inappropriate behavior by male passengers influenced the decision.
