Saudi Arabia Airline Segregation: New Islamic Law Takes Flight On Airliner, Seating By Gender Coming Soon

An airliner in Saudi Arabia has a new in-flight plan for its passengers that involves segregation. The country’s national airline is introducing new seating assignments that will be based on gender separation. The commercial flight service, in keeping with Saudi Islamic law, is responding to complaints from passengers about males sitting next to their wives, according to a Daily Mail news report.

Saudi Arabia’s national airline fielded a string of complaints from a number of male fliers who are protesting other males sitting next to their spouses and other female relatives. Accordingly, the airline met over creating rules for passengers in order to remain in strict compliance with laws that govern Islam in the Gulf kingdom.

Future plans are to institute segregation rules aboard Saudi Arabia Airlines flights. In short, males and females will not be allowed to sit adjacent to one another unless they are closes relatives. The concern is that the rules will clash with passengers who represent other nationalities and do not practice Islamic laws. Saudi assistant manager for marketing Abdul Rahman Al Fahd weighed in on the subject.

“There are solutions to this problem…we will soon enforce rules that will satisfy all passengers.”

Although the new plans for separating men and women aboard flights is part of a new initiative, most Saudi Arabia customs are already practiced aboard commercial airlines in the region. Several examples; pork dishes and alcohol, which are served aboard passenger planes in the West and other nation states, are forbidden on Middle Eastern and Sharia observant flights. Additionally, a verse from the Qur’an is read with accompanying an prayer before every flight, and international flights offer an on-board prayer room for men only.

Although the country does not allow Saudi women to work as cabin crew members, they employ the services of women from other countries. Moreover, Saudi Arabia Airlines’ segregation extends to the ground. In November, the company opened its fourth all-women office in the Murooj district of Saudi capital, Riyadh, wrote DM.

Some say the move to segregate women and men aboard Saudi airliners violates United Nations laws on human rights. Nonetheless, practitioners of Islamic law point to custom and religion, saying it’s not used to oppress women.

Still, many others say it’s pure gender inequality and has no place in the modern world. It’s known that women in Gulf states are required to enter and exit using special doors in public spaces. Months ago, Inquistir reported that women with “pretty eyes” are being forced to cover them up to prevent temptation.

Additionally, women are forbidden to socialize with another male unless he is a close relative. If she does, charges can include prostitution, fornication and adultery. The penalties are harsh and can include stoning and death. The new Saudi Arabian airline segregation policy will undoubtedly fan the flames in the ongoing debate between what many view as oppressive religious laws and human rights.

[Image via: Carbonated.TV, MyPlaneWorld]