Fox News – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has a message for Americans: Stop wearing pajamas on planes.
While speaking at Newark Airport in New Jersey on Monday, Duffy said he had noticed “a degradation in civility” among air travelers — and launched what he called a “civility campaign” to encourage courtesy and patience during the crush of holiday travel.
Duffy encouraged travelers to “say please and thank you to our pilots and to our flight attendants” and to dress “with some respect.”
“The way we dress influences how we feel, how we behave and even how others respond to us.”
“You know, whether it’s a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little bit better, which encourages us to maybe behave a little better,” he said.
“Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport. I think that’s positive.”
Duffy also encouraged passengers to help other passengers who are struggling to put their bags in the overhead bins “as a common courtesy and civility.”
“Bringing civility back, I think, enhances the travel experience for everybody,” Duffy previously said during an exclusive interview with FOX Business.
The initiative follows a 400% surge of in-flight disturbances since 2019, ranging from disruptive behavior to violence, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.
Nearly one in five flight attendants reported experiencing a physical incident in 2021, while reports of unruly passengers in 2024 remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to union and FAA data, FOX Business previously reported.
Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio, said the issue of airport attire goes beyond fashion. She said it’s about courtesy.
“From an etiquette perspective, one’s pajamas should be reserved for the privacy of one’s own home or hotel room, where people are relaxing — and not in a public space” …
