Low-cost airline Ryanair is facing a legal challenge from a non-binary passenger who says they were made to choose between binary gender descriptions when trying to book their ticket.
The budget carrier is being sued for £4,200 (just over €5000) for not providing a gender-neutral title during the online reservation process. The would-be passenger was attempting to book a return flight from Berlin, Germany to Gran Canaria, but the Ryanair website only offered Herr (Mr), Frau (Mrs) or Fräulein (Miss) options.
The passenger went on to protest to Ryanair but the airline has refused to come to an out-of-court settlement, leading the complainant to take on the aviation giant at the state court in Berlin. The lawsuit calls for the Irish carrier to pay damages and redesign its booking pages to include a gender-neutral option among the titles.
Gender neutral options at risk?
Gender neutral options include Mx instead of Mr, Mrs, and Miss. Some official forms also allow an X for “unspecified” or a U for “undisclosed,” instead of M for male or F for female. The issue of gender identification has caused controversy recently in the United States, where President Donald Trump signed an order on day one of his mandate, criticising the idea of multiple gender identities outside of biological sex.
#WATCH | While addressing a joint session, US President Donald Trump says, " We have removed the poison of critical race theory from our public schools. I signed an order making it the official policy of US govt that there are only two genders, male and female…"
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025
(Video Source:… pic.twitter.com/eHex0m8thk
With as many as 1.3 million adults in the US identifying as transgender or gender nonconforming, according to UCLA’s Williams Institute think tank, there are now a number of Americans who fear that when their current identify documents are renewed, they will come back with misgendering or “deadnaming” information.
Gender neutral customer announcements and staff uniforms
Still, a range of airlines other than Ryanair follow practices that offer gender-neutral titles within their booking proformas. The first US carrier to do so was United Airlines, in 2019, after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued guidelines on how to cater to non-binary gendered passengers options. American Airlines, Air New Zealand, Delta, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic all went on to offer the same.
New, from @united: “United Airlines today announced it has become the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all booking channels in addition to providing the option to select the title "Mx." during booking and in a MileagePlus customer profile.” pic.twitter.com/qK5ANdgA58
— Philip Crowther (@PhCrowther) March 22, 2019
In addition, many airlines have moved away from gendered expressions when it comes to how they greet and address their customers. Instead of “Ladies and Gentleman” for example, Lufthansa recommends its crew avoid obviously male-or-female-oriented salutations, and use “Dear Guests” or a simple “Welcome on board” – inclusive phrases which a spokesperson for the German airline described as helping to make all passengers boarding an aircraft feel comfortable and accepted.
Stepping further away from gender stereotypes, many airlines have adjusted their uniform policies away from skirts and heels for women, and trousers for men, allowing staff to choose which item they wear. Some airlines however still have rules on facial hair, especially for pilots, as beards have been accused of interfering with the seal on oxygen masks.
