Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested that air travel would improve if Americans stop wearing pajamas to the airport.
Ahead of the busiest travel season, Duffy urged Americans to bring “civility” back to airports by dressing well, showing up in a “good mood” and helping out their fellow travelers. His plea to Americans comes after weeks of air travel delays caused by staffing shortages during the federal government shutdown.
“Donald Trump talks about the golden age of transportation, the golden age of America, but the Golden Age in transportation truly begins with you, the traveler,” Duffy said Wednesday during a Fox Business interview.
“You have brawls at the baggage claim. You have passengers berating gate agents. We have unruly passengers on airplanes. People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly,” he said.
He then offered his own advice to Americans preparing to travel for the holidays, including telling them to “dress up.” He said that Americans focusing on “civility” will improve the travel experience.
“Help people out, be nice and courteous. And so we want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up, bring civility back to travel, and I think everyone’s experience is going to be that much better,” he added.
AAA is forecasting that 6 million U.S. travelers are expected to take domestic flights during the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday period, which is a 2% increase from last year. But AAA noted that the total number of travelers could “end up being slightly lower as some air travelers make other plans following recent flight cancellations.”
Duffy reinforced his point in a video shared to social media platform X.
“Things aren’t what they used to be. Some would call it the golden age of travel. Let’s bring civility and manners back,” Duffy said in the video.
“Ask yourself: Are you helping a pregnant woman put her bag in the overhead bin? Are you dressing with respect? Are you keeping control of your children? Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants and your pilots? Are you saying please and thank you in general? The golden age of travel begins with you,” Duffy said.
Some pundits raised their eyebrows at Duffy’s civility campaign.
NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas questioned whether Duffy should be focused on “bigger issues” facing air travel instead of how Americans dress.
“But is his message tone deaf? Aren’t there bigger issues facing the air travel industry right now, like flight delays and air traffic control shortages and antiquated equipment in the air traffic control towers, like circa 1975? Even though the government shutdown is over, travel delays are not,” Vargas said.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that the Trump administration ended a rule that would have required airlines to compensate travelers in cash for disrupted flights.
“I bet fliers would be in a better mood if the Trump administration didn’t just rip away rules that make airlines compensate people for canceled and delayed flights,” she posted on X.
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