News: Saudi Arabia's national airline to introduce gender segregation

Saudi Arabia's national airline is allegedly planning to separate male and female passengers on its flights, in accordance to strict rules enforced by the Gulf kingdom.

Gulf media report that Saudia will keep men and women segregated onboard, unless they are close relatives.

The move follows a spate of complaints from male fliers unwilling to allow other males to sit next to their wives and other female family members. 

Complaints were also recently made when male passengers claimed a flight attendant was being too 'flirty'. 

'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, told Saudi daily, Ajel.

It is thought that the airline will include instructions to flight booking staff at Gulf airports to keep these new rules in place. 

The carrier's 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 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.