In a first, Indigo allows women to avoid sitting next to men while booking seats

Indigo, India’s largest and one of the world’s largest airlines has introduced a feature that allows women to choose to sit next to only women while booking seats.

This initiative, currently in its pilot phase, enables women to view the gender of other passengers on the seating chart during check-in.

The feature “aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers,” an IndiGo spokesperson said via email while responding to query by Forbes.

Female travelers checking in for a flight will see pink seats on the seat selection page, indicating that another female passenger will occupy the seat. Only passengers who identified as female in their booking can access the new feature, so male passengers will not see the gender of other travelers.

IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, shared with CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that the initiative has received “positive individual reactions” on social media.

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He revealed that the airline is leveraging technology to introduce this option, stating, “We brought [the initiative] up as a test … It has responded very well with our customers, but also internationally.”

While many users on platforms such as X and Reddit have praised the feature, citing personal experiences of discomfort when seated next to male passengers, others have labeled it discriminatory. Some critics questioned how the airline would handle situations where male passengers identify as female.

IndiGo has defended the initiative, stating it was introduced to make flying “more comfortable for our female passengers.” However, the company did not comment on whether the decision was influenced by recent incidents involving male passengers’ inappropriate behavior on flights.