U.S. airlines to offer passengers more gender options to choose from

Airlines for America, an airline trade group, announced recently that some airlines are taking steps to make travel more seamless for nonbinary and gender-nonconforming passengers.

Beginning in the next few weeks, new gender options — undisclosed or unspecified — will appear on some airline booking pages. Each airline will make the choice on when to switch to the new format, Airlines for America told the New York Times.

The move by airlines comes in response to more local and state governments allowing residents to secure gender-neutral ID documents. Oregon was the first state to issue gender-neutral IDs, according to the Associated Press. Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. also issue nonbinary driver’s licenses.

United Airlines will be the first member of the trade group to roll out the changes. When booking, passengers will be able to select from M for male, F for female, U for undisclosed and X for unspecified.

“Customers who do not identify with a gender will have the option of selecting ‘Mx.’ as a title,” the airline said in a statement to the Times.

TSA will require travelers who use the new options to have matching identification at checkpoints.

Other Airlines for America members looking to add new options include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Delta Airlines and JetBlue are also reportedly considering the switch.