Women's day: Vistara to provide free sanitary napkins on board from March 8

In a first, Indian domestic airline Vistara on Wednesday announced that it will provide sanitary napkins free of cost on board to women travellers on request. The move will come into effect from this Women's Day, which falls on March 8. 

The airline will provide ISO 9001:2015 certified bio-degradable and organic sanitary napkins which are made from plant-based fibres that are free of plastic, toxins and perfume, the company said in a statement.

The introduction of #PadsOnBoard, the hashtag used by the airline on Twitter, is a part of Vistara's focus on services and amenities for women travellers, in addition to #VistaraWomanFlyer service, which was launched in 2017 to provide certain benefits and peace of mind to solo women travellers.

The airline's cabin crew will make in-flight announcements on all flights about the latest initiative on March 8. Following the announcement of the service, all women passengers can freely ask for a sanitary pad in case they need one.

Commenting on the new initiative, Deepa Chadha, Senior Vice President – HR and Corporate Affairs, said: "The initiative to provide sanitary pads to our customers is a meaningful one that reflects our core philosophy that 'small things make a big difference'. As a woman, I feel a greater sense of pride for being part of an organisation that provides such essential amenities to customers – something that will help so many travellers.

Additionally, to celebrate International Women's Day, all-women crew and pilots will operate retro-themed flights on the Vistara Retro Jet between Delhi and Goa on March 8.