Airlines to give customers ‘nonbinary’ choice under gender

DALLAS — Major U.S. airlines say they will soon change their ticketing process to give passengers the option of identifying themselves as other than male or female.

The gender option on airline sites will soon include choices such “undisclosed” or “unspecified.” There could also be the optional title of “Mx.”

The airlines say they are making the change to be more inclusive in dealing with a diverse population of travelers.

The move was praised by advocacy groups for transgender people.

“It’s a significant step forward for nonbinary individuals, so they are not faced with a mismatch between their ticketing information and their legal identification,” said Beck Bailey of the Human Rights Campaign.

The Transportation Security Administration says passengers should use the name, gender and birth date on their government-issued ID.

Bailey said he did not know of people with nonbinary identification being kept off planes or trains, but that fear of being stopped added to their stress.

American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue confirmed Friday that they are in the process of updating their booking tools and plan to add a binary option to the gender menu on their sites. They said the change will be made in the next several weeks.

“We certainly have a very diverse customer base. This will be well-received, and we’re happy to do it,” American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said.