Female passengers travelling solo in India can make use of a new airline scheme offering preferential services to women in a bid to help ensure their “peace of mind” and the safety of their travels.

The free Woman Flyer service from New Delhi-based airline Vistara, which began in March, promises to provide preferred seating as well as baggage and transport assistance to its female passengers travelling alone in a country in which the Foreign Office urges caution from single women using public transport.

Female customers can choose their seat while or even after booking their flight, as well as during the online check-in process. Even if the traveller hasn’t pre-selected her seat before the flight, the airline claims it will “ensure only a window or aisle seat is assigned at check-in” to its female passengers.

A Vistara A320 plane Credit: Wikimedia Commons

On arrival, uniformed Vistara staff will be available at the baggage claim area, holding placards that read "#VistaraWomanFlyer Arrivals Assistance", to assist female travellers with their luggage, the booking of airport-authorised taxis, as well as escort them to the taxi stand on request.

The airline has yet to confirm whether the staff providing aid to the female travellers will be required to be women.

The complimentary service must be booked via email at least 72 hours before departure and any taxi fares must covered by the travellers.

Uniformed Vistara staff will be available at the baggage claim area to assist female travellers with their luggage Credit: Getty

The new service, which is reportedly used by around 75 to 100 women each day, is dubbed as the first of its kind offered by an airline.

The carrier hopes to also provide the service on its international flights once the airline expands its operations beyond India, a launch date for which has yet to be revealed.

The idea for the Woman Flyer service was born after the airline began noticing female travellers seeking assistance at the airport after they had landed, according to Sanjiv Kapoor, Vistara’s chief strategy and commercial officer.

“Our staff is equipped to help women travelling alone…,” Mr Kapoor told Bloomberg. “This service is a sincere effort to ensure peace of mind of our women customers.”

The new service is said to be the first of its kind offered by an airline Credit: AP

Concerns over the safety of female tourists and locals in India have been raised following a series of rapes and other attacks against women in the country in recent years, including earlier this month when a woman, who previously survived an alleged gang rape, was attacked with acid, as well as the gang-raping and murder of a 23-year-old woman on a Delhi bus back in 2012.

The Foreign Office (FCO) currently advises women to use caution when travelling in India.

“Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk," the FCO warned. "British women have been the victims of sexual assault in Goa, Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan and women travellers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men.

Female passengers travelling alone can be escorted to the taxi stand by Vistara staff no arrival Credit: AP

“Women travellers should exercise caution when travelling in India even if travelling in a group."

Vistara’s scheme for women isn’t the only measure put in place with the aim to help female travellers.

Earlier this year, Air India launched female-only seats on its domestic routes after a number of women were allegedly groped by male travellers during flights.

India has also introduced a number of women-only trains in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Chennai. The brightly-coloured coaches were widely seen as a big hit. When the trains stop, male inspectors guide men away from the carriage doors. If any don’t comply, they are forced to pay a fine and can be taken to a police station.

It has even sparked a women-only cab service in Delhi, and inspired the city to hire its first ever female bus driver in a bid to boost women’s safety.

Last year, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the Guangdong province of south-east China introduced three security lanes solely for female passengers to help those uncomfortable with the scrutiny of male guards. The women-only aisles are managed by female security guards and allow children of either gender to join their mothers.

Also last year, a women-only bus was introduced in the city of Zhengzhou in eastern China to help reduce the number of incidents where female passengers have been groped by men, Dahe Daily reported.