--- title: Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Flyers to Dress Better description: Sean Duffy, a top Trump official, argues nicer clothes and better manenrswill improve the airport experience this holiday season canonical: https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-11-25T19:47:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:36:45.041Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Flyers to Dress Better og:description: A Top Trump official is asking passengers to opt for “a pair of jeans and a decent shirt” over “slippers and pajamas." og:url: https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c41f265bb93fca/6998cc037323af44532bd147/GettyImages-2248404616.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Record Number Of Americans Expected To Travel Over Thanksgiving Holiday Wee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Flyers to Dress Better twitter:description: A Top Trump official is asking passengers to opt for “a pair of jeans and a decent shirt” over “slippers and pajamas." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c41f265bb93fca/6998cc037323af44532bd147/GettyImages-2248404616.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Thanksgiving Flyers to Dress Better and Be Nicer > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Nov 25, 2025 7:47 PM UTC  People move through the Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan on November 26, 2025, in New York City. People move through the Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan on November 26, 2025, in New York City. Spencer Platt—Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Nov 25, 2025 7:47 PM UTC As Americans head home during what is expected to be the busiest holiday season in 15 years, a Transportation Department official is trying to send a message that civility and proper attire will make it easier. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) last week [launched](https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/golden-age-travel-starts-you-trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-unveils-new) a campaign ahead of Thanksgiving calling for travelers to “bring civility and manners back,” by “dressing with respect,” and remembering to say please and thank you to airport workers. “The golden age of travel begins with you,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says at the end of the vintage-style [campaign video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UUOD-sa5As), which contrasts footage of orderly passengers with pristine suits and ties against clips of airport brawls and passengers inmore casual airport attire. Thanksgiving is the [busiest U.S. holiday for travel](https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/11/aaa-thanksgiving-travel-forecast-2025/), and Americans maybreak records this year as nearly 82 million people are expected totravel at least 50 miles from their home, according to AAA. For those who choose to board one of the [more than 360,000 flights](https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-expects-busiest-thanksgiving-travel-period-15-years) scheduledduring the Thanksgiving travel period, Duffy suggested [on Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/travel/stop-wearings-pajamas-airplanes-transportation-secretary-sean-duffy-says-about-bringing-civility-back) that passengers opt for “a pair of jeans and a decent shirt” over “slippers and pajamas” to “behave a little better.” So far this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) [has made](https://www.faa.gov/unruly) 1,453 unruly passenger reports—down from the more than 2,000 made each year from 2022 to 2024, and the spike of 5,973 in 2021\. The agency, which reports a zero-tolerance policy for poor passenger behavior, has initiated 125 enforcement actions so far this year, andhas seen a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts since 2019, [per the DOT](https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/golden-age-travel-starts-you-trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-unveils-new). The problem appears to be global: The International Air Transport Association [found](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-unruly-passengers/) that numerous airlines and governments were concerned about the number of disruptive passenger incidents in recent years. There was one incident for every 395 flights in 2024, compared to one for every 405 flights in 2023. Frustrationsat airports, train stations, roads, and highways may be particularly tumultuous this weekas passengers recall the many flight delays and cancellations that took place during the recentgovernment shutdown. Passenger ire may also be impacted by a decision by Duffy this month to formally withdraw a Biden-era rule that would have required airlines to pay passengers for significant flight disruptions. But temporary flight restrictions enacted by the Transportation Department during the shutdownhave since ended, and an expert [previously told TIME](https://time.com/7334697/flight-delays-cancellations-government-shutdown-faa/) that current travel disruptions were “nothing unusual.” Instead, they may be caused by inclement weather as two different storm systems this weekare forecast to affect states from Texas to North Dakota. The FAA [on Tuesday](https://x.com/FAANews/status/1993300550226706848) pointed to poor weather as a reason for potential airport delays in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Houston, and Memphis. There have been 64 flight cancellations and 2,217 delays into or out of the United States today, [according to Flight Aware](https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled/). Some Democrats have poked fun at Duffy’s focus on airport behavior and attire.California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office reacted to Duffy’s post by [sharing a photo](https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/1993103106863972749) of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy barefoot on a plane. Sara McGee, a Congressional candidate for the Texas House, said she would wear pajama pants while flyingfor the rest of the Trump Administration. “If we’re going to crash due to of incompetence, I may as well be cozy when it happens,” McGee wrote. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/"},"headline":"Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Thanksgiving Flyers to Dress Better and Be Nicer","datePublished":"2025-11-25T19:47:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:36:45.041Z","description":"As Americans head home for the holidays, Sean Duffy wants to see better manners and clothes at airports","url":"https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/","keywords":["Transportation","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c41f265bb93fca/6998cc037323af44532bd147/GettyImages-2248404616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c41f265bb93fca/6998cc037323af44532bd147/GettyImages-2248404616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Record Number Of Americans Expected To Travel Over Thanksgiving Holiday Wee","caption":"Record Number Of Americans Expected To Travel Over Thanksgiving Holiday Wee","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/transportation/","name":"Transportation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7336810/thanksgiving-travel-sean-duffy-airport/","name":"Why a Federal Program Is Encouraging Thanksgiving Flyers to Dress Better and Be Nicer"}}]}] ```