Air India will launch female-only seats on domestic routes in a bid to combat in-flight sexual assaults.
From Wednesday, Air India will allocate six seats in the third row of its economy class cabin for solo women travellers. The new policy will only affect domestic flights operated on the Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline may extend the new seating configuration to international flights, after measuring its effectiveness on domestic routes.
Air India is attempting to rebuild its reputation as a safe airline for female passengers after a number of incidents tarnished the carrier. Late last year, a business class passenger flying from Mumbai to Newark entered the economy class cabin and allegedly groped a female solo passenger as she slept. Another Air India passenger was arrested in January, after a flight attendant claimed he had touched her inappropriately and made lewd comments. Both men were reported to local police upon landing.
G. Prasada Rao, Air India’s general manager for corporate communications, attempted to distance the new policy from the increase in in-flight assaults. He said that it is, “more to do with the fact that economy class doesn’t have much space to move around easily and comfortably for women, so this option will give them more choice.”
Sexual assaults against women in India have been on a rise in recent years. There are many reports of women being groped on crowded buses and trains. Victims have taken to social media, posting videos and images of the perpetrators to report the assaults. As a result, there are now segregated train carriages and buses, as well as pink women-only rickshaws in some cities.
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