An airline now allows women to avoid sitting next to men. Here's how travelers are reacting

India's biggest budget airline IndiGo has been trialing a booking feature that will allow women to avoid booking a seat next to men on flights.

The feature, the first of its kind for an airline, works by showing female travelers a pink seat at the seat selection page if it will be occupied by a female passenger, a company representative told CNBC Travel.

Male travelers, however, will not see this information, the company said.

Travelers on IndiGo must identify their genders when they purchase tickets, which allows the airline to control access to these details, according to Indigo.

The carrier began rolling out the service in May on a pilot basis, and is available on all flights, the company said. However, IndiGo's website and mobile app did not show the feature when CNBC did a check.

The new feature has received "positive individual reactions" on social media, IndiGo's CEO told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" last week.

"Technology is now enabling some things which were not able in the past. We brought [the initiative] up as a test ... It has responded very well with our customers, but also internationally," CEO Pieter Elbers said.

An IndiGo representative told CNBC Travel that the new feature is designed to make flying "more comfortable for our female passengers."

Many users on social media platforms X and Reddit commended IndiGo's new initiative, with some commenting that it is "such good news" after having bad experiences when traveling alone, and they are "glad it is available," citing personal experiences of being touched on flights.

Others complained that male passengers sometimes sit with their legs wide apart, making female neighbors uncomfortable.

However, some comments called the booking feature discriminatory and sexist.