The U.S. Department of Transportation is launching a “civility campaign” to promote better behavior on flights and in airports as the busy holiday travel season begins. Named “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” the effort was announced in a department press release last week.
The DOT released a roughly 90-second video that opens with archival images of air travel set to Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me,” then switches to tense music and clips of in-flight confrontations, including a passenger using their bare feet on a seat monitor and several brawls. Secretary Sean Duffy, in the video, asks five questions he says every traveler should consider during the holidays, such as: are you helping a pregnant woman lift her bag into the overhead bin; are you dressing with respect; and are you thanking flight attendants and pilots.
“The campaign is intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel,” the DOT said. Officials contend that improved behavior will not only make travel more pleasant but will enhance safety for passengers, gate workers, flight attendants and pilots.
The department pointed to a rise in unruly incidents: 13,800 incidents involving unruly passengers since 2021, and a 400% increase in in-flight outbursts since 2019, according to the FAA. In 2023, the FAA reported nearly 2,000 incidents, a decline from peak pandemic-era disputes tied to mask mandates.
The FAA expects this Thanksgiving to be the busiest for air travel in 15 years, with Tuesday anticipated to see the most flyers. AAA projects about 6 million people will fly in the U.S. for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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