New Delhi: There is good news for female flyers in India, especially those who travel alone.
Keeping women’s safety in mind, IndiGo is set to introduce a feature that allows them to choose a seat beside a fellow female passenger.
Passengers will be able to see which seats are pre-booked by other female flyers at the time of web check-in and select their seats accordingly, for safety and comfort. The novel feature is in pilot mode.
“This has been introduced on basis of market research, and is currently in pilot mode aligning with our #GirlPower ethos. The feature offers visibility of seats booked by female passengers, only during web check-in. It is specifically tailored to PNRs (Passenger Name Records) with women travellers — solo as well as part of family bookings,” a statement from the airline said.
There have been several untoward incidents on flights where women have been at the receiving end of unacceptable behaviour.
Last year a male passenger urinated on a fellow elderly female passenger on an Air India flight, while a professor sexually assaulted a doctor on a Delhi-Mumbai IndiGo flight.
A woman was also groped on a Mumbai-Guwahati IndiGo flight last September.
According to the airline, this feature is being introduced after market research to make travel experience more comfortable for its female passengers.
IndiGo is India’s largest domestic airline with a market share of 60.5 per cent in 2023, according to data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).