On Thursday, November 27, thousands of families in the United States will gather to enjoy Thanksgiving together. About 91% of Americans celebrate it, according to the latest data from the Pew Research Center. Many of them will have to board a plane to be reunited with their loved ones, and the country’s Ministry of Transport knows this – last Tuesday alone there were nearly twice as many flights (52,000), according to their data. For this reason, this year it has shared a campaign focusing specifically on these dates with a clear message: restore civility and good manners, not only when everyone is sitting around the table before sinking their teeth into the turkey, but also in airports.
Sean Duffy, who was appointed Secretary of Transportation by President Donald Trump last July, has agreed to participate in this campaign, whose ultimate goal is to bring back what they call “the golden age of travel.” Last week, Duffy shared a video on his Instagram profile — where he has 91,600 followers — that begins with old photos from that golden era: respectable passengers in dresses, suits, hats and bags orderly boarding the plane, passengers smiling at the attendant checking their ticket or silver helicopters circling quietly. It’s all with the song Come fly with me, by Frank Sinatra, in the background to add elegance and solemnity. “We respected the dignity of air travel and the men and women who made this dream possible,” says a deep voice. on. “Aviation was a bastion of good education,” he says.
But this ideal harmony of the past has been broken to make way for images of the present that show the exact opposite. The video cuts to a series of bare feet moving across a seat’s touchscreen or sitting on the headrest of the person in front of you, passengers fighting in the arrivals hall using “wet floor” signs as a weapon, and examples of passengers screaming, punching, and pulling hair with other passengers – or even workers – on the plane. “This is not your imagination, travel has become uncivilized!” Duffy highlights the text accompanying the publication. He offers three data – from the United States – to prove this: “400% increase in violent explosions on planes since 2019, one in five flight attendants say they have had physical accidents, and cases of unruly passengers have doubled since 2019.”
The video then goes on to show Duffy himself on an old TV, who before becoming Transport Minister was a TV presenter and collaborator – as well as a TV show participant. Reality show Where he met his current wife, Rachel Campos. Addressing the audience directly, he says: “Let us restore education and good morals.” “How can we do it better?” he asks. “Maybe we should say please and thank you to our pilots,” he suggests as a start. “Let’s try not to wear slippers or pajamas when we arrive at the airport,” he warns travelers who opt for maximum comfort.
On Monday, November 25, Duffy himself wanted to set an example by showing up at Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, to witness first-hand what he described as “the biggest Thanksgiving travel season in history.” He appeared wearing a blue suit, white shirt and maroon tie. “I almost wore jeans, but I thought it was better not to if the goal was to talk about being prepared,” he joked to reporters. However, the Minister of Transport suggested that jeans and a decent T-shirt are great attire for air travel. “I can’t force people to be civil, but you won’t get a better result unless you ask for it. So I just ask for it,” he said.
To continue the campaign, on Wednesday Duffy uploaded another video to her networks in which she introduces Lily, a woman who has been working as a flight attendant for 19 years, and has already published another video these days praising this job, with images of flight attendants hugging children, distributing free pizza after a delay or congratulating brides about to get married. Duffy asks her how passengers can help return to the golden age of travel and she’s not asking much of them. If they said “hello,” “please,” and “thank you,” and had a little patience when taking off and landing, Lily’s flights would be more enjoyable.