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Date Published: 24/03/2025

Non-binary passenger sues Ryanair for failing to provide gender-neutral titles on Spanish flight

The passenger was upset to discover that the only options available were Mr, Mrs and Miss when booking a flight to Spain

Ryanair never seems to be out of the news lately and unfortunately for the Irish airline, it’s always for the wrong reasons. This week it’s been revealed that a passenger has sued the budget carrier for failing to provide gender-neutral titles on their booking platform.

The person in question was shocked to see that the only options available were Mr, Mrs and Miss when they tried to book a flight from Berlin to Gran Canaria back in October 2021.

Surprisingly, even though other airlines have run into the same problems in the past, Ryanair has decided not to settle the case and it will go to court in Germany.

The passenger is looking for financial compensation for the unfortunate situation and is also insisting that Ryanair updates its booking form to include gender-neutral options, just as United Airlines has done. The American carrier now offers customers the option of ticking ‘X’ for an unspecified gender, ‘U’ for undisclosed and ‘Mx’ as an alternative to Mr and Mrs.

United paved the way in 2021 but since then, some of the most popular airlines have followed suit by giving more gender options, including Delta and British Airways.

Other, broader changes have been made, such as Lufthansa’s decision to move away from terms like ‘ladies and gentlemen’ when addressing passengers, opting instead for more neutral phrases such as ‘dear guests’.

In other news: Spain takes Ryanair to court again over questionable hand luggage policies

Image: Archive

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