NL Corresspondent
New Delhi: IndiGo will be soon introducing the gender-neutral option of honorific ‘Mx' for passengers at the time of booking tickets, as part of larger efforts to boost inclusivity. Besides, the country's largest carrier, which has a domestic market share of 62 per cent, aims to increase by two-fold the number of individuals with disabilities employed by it.
The airline will be introducing the ‘Mx' option at the time of booking for passengers and that will provide a choice for transgenders who do not want to identify themselves, Sukhjit S Pasricha, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at IndiGo, told PTI.
Currently, ‘male' and ‘female' are the options available on the airline's website during the booking process.
Air India Express and Vistara already offer the ‘Mx' option for passengers at the time of booking tickets.
Pasricha said IndiGo has implemented various initiatives for the LGBTQ+ community, including employee referral programmes specifically designed to encourage hiring of LGBTQ+ individuals. “This has strengthened candidate mobilisation through internal resources and fostered a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees… We partner with agencies specializing in LGBTQ+ recruitment,” he said.
According to him, there is a steady induction of LGBTQ+ individuals and they are working in various functions, including flying, at the airline.
“Our benefits like gender reassignment surgery, inclusion of live-in partners in the medical insurance, has created an even more inclusive space, and has been one of the attractive features in our outreach to aspiring candidates from the community,” he added.
At the end of March 31, 2024, the airline had 36,860 permanent employees, including 5,038 pilots and 9,363 cabin crew.
“Our organisation has over 240+ individuals with disabilities across 60+ cities in customer facing roles. The placement of individuals with disabilities is determined based on multiple factors, including safety, accommodation requirements, and skill mapping.
“We prioritise merit-based hiring and have primarily employed individuals with disabilities as customer service officers/executives for airport operations roles, with some also serving in cargo teams,” Pasricha said. He also said the airline aims to increase the number of individuals with disabilities employed by it by at least two-fold in the coming financial year.
