Indian airline gives female travelers option to choose seats next to other women

By Karla Cripps, CNN

(CNN) — One of India’s biggest airlines has just launched a new feature that allows female travelers to see where other women are sitting when selecting seats for their flights.

According to a statement sent to CNN, low-cost carrier IndiGo Airlines is offering the feature on a pilot basis to female passengers checking in for their flights online.

The carrier, founded in 2006, operates more than 2,000 domestic and international flights per day in India.

In the statement, IndiGo said the feature, which will be available to women traveling solo or as part of a family booking, aligns with their “#GirlPower ethos.”

“IndiGo is proud to announce the introduction of a new feature that aims to make the travel experience more comfortable for our female passengers,” said the airline.

“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.”

CNN has reached out to IndiGo for more information on the rollout of the new feature.

Though the airline didn’t specify a reason for giving women the option of seeing where other females are seated, assaults against women and children during commercial flights are reported regularly all over the world.

In the US, crimes aboard aircraft fall within the FBI’s jurisdiction. In a report released in April aimed at raising awareness of sexual assaults on planes, it said it opened 96 in-flight sexual assault cases in 2023.

“Sexual assault aboard aircraft – which usually takes the form of unwanted touching – is a felony that can land offenders in prison,” said the report.

“Typically, men are the perpetrators, and women and unaccompanied minors are the victims.”

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CNN’s Manveena Suri contributed to this report.