Solo female passengers on Air India flights can now book seats in women-only sections of the plane.
The seats will be in two rows of economy, according to the airline’s chairman Ashwani Lohani, and women in any of these six seats won’t be charged extra.
Air India’s revenue manager, Meenakshi Malik, told The Hindu newspaper: “We feel, as national carriers, it is our responsibility to enhance comfort level to female passengers. There are a lot of female passengers who travel alone with us and we will be blocking a few seats for them.”
The airline will also start carrying two pairs of restrainers on board to help cabin crew deal with disruptive passengers.
The move is an attempt by the national carrier to kerb sexual harassment, after a woman was reportedly groped in her sleep on an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York. A man had moved from his business class seat to a free seat next to her in economy.
Not everyone agrees with the plans. Jitendra Bhargav, a former executive director at Air India told The Hindu: “Planes are not unsafe for women passengers. In case of unruly behaviour, the airline crew are authorised to take action as per the law.”
Similar policies are already in place on India’s other transport methods. Metro trains have female-only carriages, there are pink rickshaws that only carry women, plus whole trains solely for women in the biggest cities.
