Saudi national airline to ban gender-mixing on flights on complaints of male passengers

RIYADH-

Saudi Arabia’s national carrier Saudia intends to ban gender-mixing aboard all its flights in line with rules enforced by the conservative Gulf kingdom, reports Emirates247 media website.

The airlines said it decided to act following recurrent complaints from passengers objecting to have males seated next to their wives and other female family members.

“There are solutions to this problem…we will soon enforce rules that will satisfy all passengers,” Saudia assistant manager for marketing Abdul Rahman Al Fahd said, quoted by the Saudi Arabic language daily ‘Ajel’.

He did not elaborate, but the paper said it would include instructions to flight booking staff at the Gulf kingdom’s airports to ensure males and females are separated aboard Saudia’s flights unless they are closely related.

The carriers’ policies are already in tune to the strict Islamic practices of Saudi Arabia: no alcoholic beverages or pork dishes are served onboard, a prayer of verse from the Holy Quran is read before take off, and many international flights have a designated men’s prayer area.

In addition, Saudia does not employ Saudi women as cabin crew, opting to recruit women from other countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines, Albania and Bosnia instead. 

But moves are being made to employ females on the ground in November, the airline opened its fourth women’s section staffed by entirely by females at its office in the Murooj district of Saudi capital, Riyadh; reports British daily Mail Online.